MILAN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. (“Newron”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for patients with diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and pain, today announced it has joined forces with 300 million people living with rare diseases and health care advocates around the world for Rare Disease Day®, an annual global initiative dedicated to elevating public understanding of rare diseases and calling attention to the special challenges of people affected by these.
“We are proud to support NORD (The National Organization for Rare Disorders in the USA) and EURORDIS (the European Organization for Rare Diseases) to raise awareness for rare diseases and their devastating impact on patients’ lives,” said Stefan Weber, CEO of Newron, “We are particularly honored to support groups such as Rettsyndrome.org and Curerett.org, who are dedicated to improving the lives of girls living with Rett syndrome, which is one of more than 6,000 rare diseases.”
About Rare Disease Day®
Rare
Disease Day was launched by EURORDIS and its Council of National
Alliances in 2008. Held on the last day of February each year, a rare
day, it seeks to raise awareness of the impact that rare diseases have
on the lives of patients and those who care for them. What began as a
European event quickly became international in scope, with participants
from more countries joining each year. See the Rare
Disease Day 2016 video.
Since Rare Disease Day began, thousands of events have been held throughout the world, reaching hundreds of thousands of people. The political momentum resulting from the Day has also served advocacy purposes, contributing to the advancement of EU policies on rare diseases and the creation of national plans for rare diseases in a number of EU Member States and now in other countries.
In the United States, the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) promotes and celebrates Rare Disease Day. For more information about Rare Disease Day in the U.S., please visit http://www.rarediseaseday.us/.
For information about global activities, please visit www.rarediseaseday.org.
About Rare Diseases
The
European Union considers a disease as rare when it affects fewer than 1
in 2,000 citizens. According to EURORDIS, over 6000 different rare
diseases have been identified to date, affecting over 60 million people
in Europe and the USA alone. Due to the low prevalence of each disease,
medical expertise is rare, knowledge is scarce, care offering inadequate
and research limited. Despite their great overall number, rare disease
patients are the orphans of health systems, often denied diagnosis,
treatment and the benefits of research.
Newron is pursuing clinical development with sarizotan in Rett syndrome.
About Rett Syndrome
Rett syndrome is a
severe neurodevelopmental disorder primarily affecting females, with an
estimated prevalence ranging from one in 10,000 to one in 20,000
females. There are no approved treatments available. Rett syndrome is
characterised by a loss of acquired fine and gross motor skills and the
development of neurological, cognitive and autonomic dysfunction, which
leads to loss of ability to conduct daily life activities, walk or
communicate. Rett syndrome also is associated with a reduced life
expectancy. Approximately 25 percent of the deaths in patients with Rett
syndrome are possibly related to multiple cardio-respiratory
dysrhythmias that result from brain stem immaturity and autonomic
failure. More than 95 percent of these patients have a random mutation
in the MeCP2 gene. Episodes of apnea, hyperventilation and disordered
breathing are found in approximately 70 percent of patients with Rett
syndrome at some stage of their life.
*For more information on Rett Syndrome, visit www.rettsyndrome.org
About Newron Pharmaceuticals
Newron
(SIX: NWRN) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of
novel therapies for patients with diseases of the central nervous system
(CNS) and pain. The Company is headquartered in Bresso near Milan,
Italy. Marketing authorization in the EU for Xadago® (safinamide)
for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease was granted by the EU
Commission in February 2015, followed by Swissmedic’s marketing
authorization for Switzerland in November 2015. The drug has been
launched by Newron’s partner Zambon in the first key EU countries
Germany, Spain and Italy, as well as in Switzerland. The New Drug
Application (NDA) has been accepted for review by the FDA, PDUFA date
March 29, 2016. Zambon has the rights to develop and commercialize
safinamide globally, excluding Japan and other key Asian territories,
where Meiji Seika has the rights to develop and commercialize the
compound. Newron’s additional projects are based on highly promising
treatments for rare disease patients and are at various stages of
clinical development. They include Sarizotan for patients with Rett
Syndrome, for which Newron received Orphan Drug Designation in both the
US and the EU, ralfinamide for patients with specific rare pain
indications, and NW-3509 as potentially the first add-on therapy for the
treatment of patients with positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
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its current product candidates and current and future collaborations for
the development and commercialisation of its product candidates and
reduce costs (including staff costs), (2) the market for drugs to treat
CNS diseases and pain conditions, (3) Newron’s anticipated future
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