Author Archives: Larry Luxner

In the seven months since Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ triple-combo therapy Trikafta (elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor) hit the market, people with cystic fibrosis, their doctors, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) have all given the drug high marks for effectiveness. Trikafta, a CFTR modulator, is intended to treat CF patients…

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…

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…

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…

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…

As the number of Americans infected with COVID-19 surpasses one million, it’s no surprise that people with rare diseases — whose immune systems were generally compromised even before the outbreak — are particularly terrified of this pandemic. That fear is evident in an online survey conducted by the National…

First, the bad news: If you’re one of the 30 million or so Americans with a rare disease, you probably have lower immunity to the novel coronavirus than most people. Now, the good news: You already know how to face loneliness and adversity — qualities that make you far stronger…

First, the bad news: If you’re one of the 30 million or so Americans with a rare disease, you probably have lower immunity to the novel coronavirus than most people. Now, the good news: You already know how to face loneliness and adversity — qualities that make you far stronger…

Even with the coronavirus pandemic ravaging Europe and much of the world, patient advocate Lucia Monaco, PhD, of Italy remains confident that the Paris-based nonprofit she chairs will see the approval of 1,000 new rare disease therapies by 2027. That group, the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) —…

When Laura Bonnell, founder and president of the Bonnell Foundation, was 12 years old, she decided to become a reporter. That dream led to a long career at WWJ, the CBS Radio affiliate in Detroit. One day while doing a United Way promotional piece at the University of Michigan…