Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Rani Therapeutics LLC have entered into a collaboration and global license agreement to develop and commercialize an oral product that encompasses Rani’s oral delivery technology, the Ranipill, and Chugai’s rare disease antibody in development.

Tvardi Therapeutics Inc. stock lost 83.9% of its value as investors took in poor preliminary results of the phase II study of its lead candidate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The company’s shares (NASDAQ:TVRD) closed at $6.69 each on Oct. 13.

Genetic mutations are the primary cause of most rare diseases. Although each condition affects a small fraction of the population, the global impact is significant, with an estimated 300 million individuals affected worldwide. A large proportion of pathogenic missense variants – estimated at 40%-60% – cause rare diseases by impairing protein stability. This underscores protein restoration as a promising therapeutic strategy.

A U.S. FDA complete response letter (CRL) citing manufacturing concerns has stepped into the way of a rare genetic disorder treatment. Fortress Biotech Inc. and its subsidiary, Cyprium Therapeutics Inc., said the letter in response to the NDA for CUTX-101, an injectable formulation of copper histidinate, noted cGMP deficiencies at the facility where the Menkes disease treatment is manufactured.

The U.S. FDA released a trio of draft guidances to help sponsors in developing and monitoring cell and gene therapies, as well as other regenerative medicine therapies.

After a phase III stumble, Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. will drop development of ACP-101, intranasal carbetocin, to treat hyperphagia in patients with the rare genetic disorder Prader-Willi syndrome. Top-line data from the 12-week, double-blind, randomized phase III study missed its primary endpoint by not producing a statistically significant improvement over placebo.

Renewing hopes of restoring the rare pediatric disease priority review voucher (RPD PRV) program that expired at the end of 2024, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 47-0 Sept. 17 to advance the Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025 (H.R. 1262), one of six pieces of legislation slated to move to the full U.S. House for consideration.

Shape Therapeutics Inc. could bring in as much as $1.2 billion in a new option and license deal with Vectory Therapeutics BV. It’s another collaboration for both companies that are known for working with large and small pharmas. Vectory is getting the exclusive option to evaluate Shape’s brain-penetrating adeno-associated virus capsid, SHP-DB1, against three targets, including mHTT, TDP-43 for Huntington’s disease and phosphorylated tau for Alzheimer’s disease.

Recent comments from CDER Director George Tidmarsh suggesting that the agency may be backing away from the use of its independent expert panels for individual product approvals seem to be supported by the numbers.

Two months after starting the phase I/II Synrgy trial with its gene therapy, CAP-002, enrolling 12 pediatric patients with rare disease STXBP1 encephalopathy, Capsida Biotherapeutics paused the study following the death of the trial’s first patient.