News

Throughout May, supporters will celebrate Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) Awareness Month with a variety of educational, advocacy, and fundraising initiatives. The goal of the month-long event is to raise awareness of the rare genetic disease and to support efforts that will accelerate PWS research and treatment development. As it has…

Harmony Biosciences has started a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial testing pitolisant for excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and behavioral problems in people with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), 6 and older. A pivotal study is one where results, if positive, are used to support applications for the therapy’s regulatory approval.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to Harmony Biosciences’ pitolisant to treat daytime sleepiness in people with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Orphan drug status is meant to incentivize the development of treatments for rare diseases, or those affecting fewer than 200,000 people in…

People with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) caused by a genetic deletion are significantly more likely to have pale skin, seizures, and language development delays than PWS from other types of mutations. A PWS-causing genetic deletion was also associated with a higher frequency of excessive and…

While food-seeking behaviors normally lessen as people age, they increase over time with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), according to a study using the Hyperphagia Questionnaire for Clinical Trials (HQ-CT), a tool commonly used in clinical trials but not in comparing a large PWS patient group to the general population. HQ-CT…

Acadia Pharmaceuticals has launched a Phase 3 clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of ACP-101, an experimental carbetocin nasal spray, for the treatment of hyperphagia, or insatiable hunger, in people with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). The pivotal trial, dubbed COMPASS PWS, is expected to enroll up to…

The Prader-Willi Syndrome Association USA (PWSA) has again been named a winner of the Patients at the Heart awards, an effort by Harmony Biosciences to help fund nonprofits that work for people with sleep disorders and rare neurological diseases. The award will fund PWS Sleep Within Reach…

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) patients who switched from daily treatment with DCCR (diazoxide choline extended-release tablets) to a placebo experienced worsening excessive hunger, or hyperphagia, and greater body weight gains relative to those who stayed on DCCR. That’s according to top-line data from the new randomized withdrawal period of…

Providing needed care for someone with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) may make people — particularly those who serve as primary caregivers — more likely to experience depression and feel overloaded, a small study from Argentina suggests. “Caring for people with PWS can have a significant effect on the mental health,…

Harmony Biosciences plans to launch a Phase 3 clinical trial by year’s end to investigate whether pitolisant can safely and effectively reduce excessive daytime sleepiness in children, adolescents, and adults with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), the company said. The trial will be registrational, meaning that, if positive, the findings…