News

The University College of London (UCL) has licensed VSN16R, an investigational oral treatment for fragile X syndrome, to U.S.-based Lenire Biosciences. Although originally developed by UCL researchers for treating muscle spasticity in multiple sclerosis, recent preclinical data showed that VSN16R could lessen behavioral symptoms in a…

Katie Clapp said she thinks there were just five scientists researching fragile X syndrome when she attended her first conference about the disorder shortly after her son’s diagnosis in 1992. Today there are hundreds, if not thousands, of teams around the world working on the condition, which can…

Nonprofits, scientists, governmental organizations, and the rare disease drug development industry have long cited 7,000 as the average number of rare diseases in the world. But a new analysis shows there are as many as 10,867 rare diseases globally. And that…

Nova Mentis is teaming up with the University of Central Florida (UCF) Research Foundation to develop a new test that will use saliva samples to measure the levels of serotonin — a key neurotransmitter — in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including fragile X syndrome, the company said…

Zygel, an experimental cannabidiol gel developed by Zynerba Pharmaceuticals to ease abnormal behaviors in people with fragile X syndrome, was well tolerated and effective, including in patients with severe disease, according to a new interim analysis of an open-label extension study. The poster, titled “Long-Term Safety and Sustained Efficacy…

Nova Mentis has received the green light from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to ship psilocybin (NM-1001) into Canada, moving it a step closer to being tested as a treatment for fragile X syndrome. Psilocybin arrived recently at the labs of the Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to NeuroNascent’s NNI-351 for the treatment of fragile X syndrome. NNI-351, given orally, is able to penetrate the brain, where it has been shown to boost the proliferation and growth of immature progenitor cells into mature…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted rare pediatric disease designation to Neuronascent‘s investigational therapy NNI-351 for the treatment of fragile X syndrome (FXS). “With vast unmet need for novel therapies that can directly address pediatric FXS behavioral deficits, such as to improve education and social…

In an effort to both increase accuracy and remove offensive language in the name of FMR1 — the gene at the root of fragile X syndrome — the European Fragile X Network (EFXN) led a push to rename it Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1. The name change now…

In people with fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), a condition related to fragile X syndrome that develops late in life, measures of dexterity and memory tend to worsen markedly over time, a new study shows. The results support the development of preventive treatments for FXTAS, according to its researchers.