News

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals plans to file an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that the use of Firdapse (amifampridine), an approved oral therapy for adults with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), be expanded to children. The announcement came after the company received a favorable decision from…

A patient with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) saw a marked decrease in his lung tumors following treatment with a combination of an immune checkpoint inhibitor and chemotherapy — all while having no LEMS flare-ups. That finding from a recent case report, according to…

Firdapse (amifampridine) improved muscle strength and response to nerve cell stimulation in adults with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), a pooled analysis of six clinical trials demonstrated. The findings showed that all six previous trials together “showed significant efficacy, consistent with earlier reports of beneficial efficacy” of Firdapse —…

A federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should not have approved Ruzurgi (amifampridine) for the treatment of children with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS). The decision by the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is a win for Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, which…

Cholinesterase inhibitors may be useful in controlling the symptoms of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) in people with relatively mild disease, as highlighted in a recent case report. The findings suggest that these medications may be particularly useful for managing LEMS in countries where Firdapse (amifampridine) — the…

Football and science seem to be disparate fields of play at first glance, but the nonprofit Uplifting Athletes is finding common ground by leveraging the popularity of college gridiron games to fund research for rare diseases. Its nearly two dozen chapters — representing college football teams across the nation…

Jacobus Pharmaceutical has issued a voluntary recall for three lots of Ruzurgi (amifampridine), a medication that is approved in the U.S. to treat people with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) ages 6–17. According to the company’s announcement, while doing confirmatory full testing on one of the lots, control…

Immunofluorescence, a technique that can be used to detect antibodies associated with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), was negative in a 72-year-old woman, but another technique — called immunoblot — was positive for LEMS-associated antibodies. This ultimately allowed for a LEMS diagnosis and the discovery of a previously unknown tumor.

A woman with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) twice tested positive for a rare but high-risk blood marker of cancer, called type 2 antineuronal nuclear antibody (ANNA-2), while no tumor was evident, according to a case report. While LEMS often occurs in the context of cancer, repeat screenings over…

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has secured a second U.S. patent covering Firdapse (amifampridine), an approved oral treatment for Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS). “We are pleased that this second patent for Firdapse has been issued and believe that it further enhances our intellectual property protection for Firdapse,” Patrick J. McEnany, chairman…