News

Partnership Aims to Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs for Rare Disease Meds

AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, a specialty and home delivery pharmacy, is partnering with TailorMed, a healthcare technology company, to help lower out-of-pocket prescription costs for specialty pharmacy patients. Medications attained through specialty pharmacies are those used to treat rare and chronic conditions in the U.S., and are often extremely costly. For…

2nd Firdapse Patent Secured in US by Catalyst with 3 Still Pending

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…

Nominations Open for 2022 Eurordis Black Pearl Awards

Nominations are now open for the worldwide 2022 Black Pearl Awards from Eurordis-Rare Diseases Europe. The 12 award categories recognize individual advocates, policy makers, researchers, organizations, and companies who work to make a difference for the global rare disease community. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 10…

Ruzurgi Available in Canada After Brief Interruption

Health Canada has re-issued its approval of Ruzurgi (amifampridine) for the treatment of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) in patients 6 and older. The decision comes two months after the Federal Court in Canada cancelled the therapy’s approval in the country due to data protection-related issues filed by Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, which commercializes…

Catalyst, DyDo Strike Deal to Develop, Market Firdapse in Japan

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has teamed up with DyDo Pharma to develop and commercialize Firdapse (amifampridine) in Japan for the treatment of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS). Under the terms of their agreement, DyDo will be responsible for funding all clinical, regulatory, marketing, and commercialization activities in Japan. In turn,…

EveryLife Introduces First of Kind ‘Roadmap’ to ICD Codes

To help patient advocacy leaders and their partners better understand how global health statistics codes — known as ICD codes — are assigned, updated, and revised in the U.S. health information system, the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases is presenting a first-of-its-kind resource guide. The foundation created the…

Patient-reported Data Reliable, Dutch Analysis Finds

Almost all people with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) have generalized symptoms at disease onset, according to an analysis of data from a Dutch patient registry. That finding, and others, were similar between patient-completed questionnaires and medical records, which supported…