News

To help patients and families facing out-of-pocket medical costs, The Assistance Fund (TAF) has opened a new program for eligible individuals living with porphyria. The TAF Porphyria Financial Assistance Program helps with therapy-related copayments, health insurance premiums, and incidental medical expenses related to the metabolic disorder, which has…

The number of treatments for children with rare diseases has grown over the past decade, according to a new study. However, despite the increase, nearly 7,000 rare diseases are still lacking treatment. And federal incentives to boost treatment development for these rare diseases have primarily focused not on creating new…

The European Commission has approved Givlaari (givosiran) to treat acute hepatic porphyria in patients, 12 and older, in the European Union. This follows Givlaari’s approval for the same indication in the U.S., and the positive recommendation recently issued by the Committee for Medicinal…

In recognition of Rare Disease Day Feb. 29, Bionews Services launched a social media campaign last month asking patients to describe what makes them rare. Running Feb. 7–29, the #WhatMakesMeRare campaign was aimed at uplifting people with rare diseases by encouraging them to share their stories and perspectives. The…

Beginning on Feb. 29, Rare Disease Day, chapters from notable scientific books and clinical review articles covering rare disorders will be available free-of-charge from Elsevier. The offer runs through April 30, and aims to supports work by researchers and clinicians into a better understanding of and treatments for rare diseases, as well…

Starting a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit isn’t easy, but the National Organization for Rare Disorders gave a few tips for those  looking to begin the complex process in its Feb. 20 webinar.  William Whitman…

An abundance of events are afoot around the world to mark Rare Disease Day 2020 on Feb. 29. The activities are focused on heightening awareness about rare diseases and the hundreds of millions of individuals they are thought to affect. Patients, caregivers, and advocates worldwide will sport denim ribbons…

Patients with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) who take hemin as preventive therapy use fewer healthcare resources than those who take the medicine for acute attacks, according to a study based on U.S. real-world data. The study, “Real-world annualized healthcare utilization and expenditures among insured US…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a vast government bureaucracy, employs about 17,500 people and had a budget of $5.7 billion in 2019. Yet even with its enormous resources, the FDA these days relies more and more on patients to…

The gleaming new Dutch headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), fronting Domenico Scarlattilaan in Amsterdam’s suburban Zuidas business district, finally opened for business last month — just over two years after the European Union decided to relocate the EMA to the Netherlands in the wake of Brexit.