News

Alexion Pharmaceuticals announced that Ultomiris (ravulizumab) has been approved in the European Union to treat adults and children (weighing at least 10 kgs, or 22 lbs) with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). “Today’s marketing authorization marks an important step in our efforts to establish Ultomiris as the…

A short film by Kidney Research UK looking at how scientific research has helped those with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) garnered People’s Choice honors at this year’s Charity Film Awards, presented virtually due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Called “Saving Lives — How Genetics Research Changed the…

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…

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.

The first known case of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and adult-onset cobalamin C deficiency, a metabolic disorder, occurring together in the same person was described in a recent case report. The report, “Cobalamin c deficiency associated with antifactor h antibody-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome in…

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…

Ultomiris (ravulizumab-cwvz) is safe and effective at resolving acute and life-threatening complications of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) in adults with thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), Phase 3 clinical trial data shows. Trial findings were reported in the study, “The long-acting C5 inhibitor, Ravulizumab,…

European authorities must step up efforts to screen babies for a multitude of genetic disorders, a panel of experts suggested during a May 14-15 online medical conference. The session was part of the 10th European Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Products (ECRD2020) — which was to have occurred…

Dara Riva always had a rule that her 10-year-old son could play video games only once a week. But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and her perspective changed. Riva’s son, Maximilian, has cystic fibrosis (CF), making him particularly susceptible to COVID-19 and the complications that can arise from it.

Eurordis, a Paris-based coalition of national rare disease associations across Europe, hosted its first all-virtual conference, bringing some 1,500 delegates from 57 countries together online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 10th European Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Products (ECRD2020) — which was set for May 14–15 in…