Bella, a 15-year-old in Fort Worth, Texas, loves jellyfish, horses, anime, Billie Eilish, reading sci-fi and fantasy, and making art. But living with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) makes it hard for her to engage in some of her favorite activities. “I can draw and paint for only a few minutes before my hand starts to hurt, so I . . .
Sean Baumstark was 25 when he was diagnosed with Friedrich’s ataxia, a neuromuscular disease that affects the nervous system and heart and causes muscle weakness and ataxia, a loss of balance and coordination. “During my diagnosis,” Sean says, “the geneticist started talking about support groups and encouraging that I come to grips with what I . . .
AavantiBio, a biotechnology company developing a gene-targeting therapy for Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), was awarded MDA Venture Philanthropy (MVP) funding totaling $1,076,232 to advance AavantiBio’s phase 2 clinical trial of a gene-replacement therapy for the disease. MVP is MDA’s drug development program, which is exclusively focused on funding the discovery and clinical application of treatments and . . .
Texas-based Reata Pharmaceuticals announced positive results of its pivotal phase 2 clinical trial (MOXIe) of omaveloxolone in patients with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA). Patients treated with omaveloxolone showed a statistically significant improvement in the modified Friedreich’s Ataxia Rating Scale mFARS (a scale used to measure neurological function) after 48 weeks of treatment compared to placebo, and . . .
Sanjay Bidichandani, MBBS, PhD, professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, has an ongoing MDA research grant (totaling $300,000 over three years) to study the role of epigenetic silencing of the frataxin gene (FXN) in Friedreich’s ataxia (FA). (Epigenetic changes to the genome are factors that influence the activity of genes . . .
During 2017 we were honored to provide four research grants and one development grant to individuals looking to accelerate treatments and cures for FSHD and FA. Learn more about their work:
The investigational drug JOTROL under development by Jupiter Orphan Therapeutics to treat FA has received FDA Orphan Drug Designation.
Angie Wilkerson, who lives with FA, believes the only failure lies in not giving yourself the chance to try something new.
Manuela Corti of University of Florida was awarded an MDA grant to study gene therapy in FA
Spending time in our nation’s capital with dozens of other MDA families gave me a new sense of empowerment and taught me to apply a skill I’ve already honed in my personal life to the public policy arena. It was inspiring and exciting to see so many people come together in one place to do our part in making this country a better place for people who live with muscle-debilitating diseases.
