News

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals‘ Zygel failed to significantly ease behavioral symptoms in the overall group of children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) who took part in the CONNECT-FX trial, top-line results show. However, significant benefits were detected in participants with more severe symptoms, indicating that the experimental…

A parent language intervention based on story-telling eases the severity of speech and social impairments in children with fragile X syndrome, a study shows. The study also found that adding lovastatin, a medication widely prescribed for lowering cholesterol, leads to no additional benefits. The study “Controlled…

The Alexion Charitable Foundation has awarded $1.1 million in grants to programs that support those with rare diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization recently announced. The grants will support activities that align with the foundation’s Rare Belonging focus, a set of funding priorities aimed at improving the…

Low levels of pro-inflammatory proteins in the blood suggest that inflammation is not a hallmark of fragile X syndrome, according to a new study. The findings also indicated that assessing the levels of 16 proteins may be useful for diagnosing, classifying, and monitoring fragile X progression.

Oral treatment with trofinetide was well tolerated and, at a higher dose, eased social avoidance, anxiety, hyperactivity and other symptoms of fragile X syndrome in adolescent and adult males, results of a Phase 2 trial show. The study, “A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study of…

The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) recently created a Rare Disease Diversity Coalition focused on reducing racial disparities in the rare disease community. Getting a timely and accurate diagnosis for a disease that few people — sometimes even physicians — have heard of is challenging on its own merit.

An Australian project is recruiting couples planning to have children or experiencing early pregnancy for a nationwide genetic study to screen for about 750 genetic conditions, including fragile X syndrome. Mackenzie’s Mission is an initiative named after the daughter of Rachael and Jonathan Casella, Mackenzie, who was born with…

Providing a fragment of the FMRP protein, which is missing in people with fragile X syndrome, eased hyperactivity and restored nerve cell communication in the brain, a study in a mouse model found. The study, “FMRP(1–297)-tat restores ion channel and synaptic function…

Shionogi has acquired Tetra Therapeutics, the developer of a treatment candidate known as BPN14770 for fragile X syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease. With the agreement, Shionogi obtains global rights to Tetra’s entire pipeline. It will continue developing BPN14770 — an investigational therapy for…

While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic won’t have much of an impact on cash available for new biotech startups, it has begun to cause delays in the development of gene therapies to treat a variety of rare diseases. That’s the consensus of industry experts who spoke in a May 26 webinar…