Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

Vaccines for COVID-19 are generally safe for children with Dravet syndrome, and are unlikely to cause an increase in the frequency of seizures, whereas COVID-19-like disease often increases seizure frequency, according to a pair of surveys done in the U.K. Since the start of the pandemic, researchers have…

Treatment with STK-001, Stoke Therapeutics‘ investigational therapy for Dravet syndrome, has so far raised no safety concerns among children taking part in the ongoing Phase 1/2a MONARCH clinical trial, according to the results of a planned interim analysis. Early data also hint that the medication may reduce seizure…

Longboard Pharmaceuticals is planning to launch a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial early next year that will evaluate the company’s investigational therapy LP352 in adults with Dravet syndrome and other types of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs). The trial will test the therapy’s effectiveness in lessening seizures in patients…

Eurordis opened a campaign, called Rare 2030 Action, that is seeking to establish a European action plan for rare diseases to ensure that none of the 30 million people in Europe living with rare diseases are left behind by the start of a new decade. As part of…

Ataluren, in development by PTC Therapeutics as a possible treatment for Dravet syndrome, showed an acceptable safety profile in a small clinical trial. That trial, conducted at a single site in New York City, involved 15 children with either Dravet syndrome due to mutations in the CDKL5…

Zogenix has launched a global access program for Fintepla (fenfluramine) to make the medication available to more patients with Dravet syndrome. In the United States and the European Union, Fintepla is approved as an add-on treatment to help prevent seizures in people with Dravet syndrome, ages…

Fintepla has no substantial impact on growth, in terms of height and weight, in children with Dravet syndrome, clinical trial data suggest. The findings were shared at the 2020 American Epilepsy Society (AES) Annual Meeting, in the presentation, “Treatment with Fintepla (fenluramine) in Patients with…

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)’s RareLaunch training program will host two days of free virtual workshops in December, with the aim of empowering leaders to start non-profit organizations and research programs to help people with rare diseases.  “The RareLaunch program is…

Long-term treatment with Fintepla can reduce the frequency of seizures in children and adolescents with Dravet syndrome, according to two-year interim data from an open-label extension study. Study findings were presented by Zogenix, the therapy’s developer, in a poster titled “Long-Term (2-Year) Safety and Efficacy…

A majority of rare disease patients using telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic thought the experience positive, and many would like the option of continuing its use in future appointments, a series of surveys found. The surveys were conducted by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and involved more than 800…