#GivingTuesday is Here!
Here in the US we celebrated Thanksgiving this past weekend. It’s a time of family, thanks, and giving. Most of us “gave” at the mall on Black Friday or online on Cyber Monday … but now it’s #GivingTuesday, an annual day where the world comes together to give.
November is MLD Foundation’s second busiest travel and meeting time … but this month we had an exceptionally busy time supporting families as well. Your generous gifts are what enables us to work on your behalf!
We’ve Been Busy!
We’ll send out some summary postings over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, here are a few highlights of our last 60 days …
- We are working with yet another drug company on a MLD therapy … and one therapy might see an FDA registration next year!
- MLD gene therapy has a new owner, Orchard Therapeutics … and they are moving much more quickly than the prior owner.
- The MLD newborn screening pilot study is making great progress and we are preparing to launch in another state in a few months.
- Met with a pharma partner to help advance an ongoing genotype-phenotype study they have underway, This will be important to try to determine what form of MLD progression is expected if a baby is diagnosed at birth … and potentially for those diagnosed with early symptoms too.
- Attended the annual Rare Diseases and Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit sponsored by NORD.
- Met with industry, BIO, and numerous advocacy organizations to drive collaboration on rare disease policy – especially for ACA and Orphan Drug Tax policy issues.
- Met with another Pharma company who detailed to us some success and roadblocks for their therapy development.
And Most Importantly …
- Continued our Compassion support for families … recently on the phone and in person in California, Maryland, Colorado, and even Perth Australia, and around the globe via email and social media. We’ve recently helped families get confirming diagnostics, make therapy decisions (including gene therapy, stem cell transplant, and no therapy), connect with clinical resources, obtain wheelchair vans and other equipment, and have been a source of direct financial support when unexpected expenses have arisen.
Please remember to give on #GivingTuesday to support MLD Foundation! There are no salaries paid here – all donations go directly to Compassion support for families and to advance MLD Research and Awareness.
http://mldfoundation.org/donations.php
Thank You!