Finding a Cure for Fragile X
Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, MD and PhD, is the Co-Director of the Molecular Diagnostics Section of the Genetic Laboratory at Rush University. She studies genotype- and phenotype-related neurodegenerative and neurogenetic diseases. Dr. Berry-Kravis has a history of studying Fragile X and established the comprehensive Fragile X Clinic and Research Program at Rush University in 1992. She has won several awards, including the FRAXA Champion Award in 2011.
Tetra Therapeutics is launching large scale clinical trials of their phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor for males ages 12-45 with Fragile X syndrome. FRAXA Research Foundation’s basic and translational research pointed the way to phosphodiesterase inhibitors to treat Fragile X many years ago.
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Thirteen centers across the US enrolled children with Fragile X in a large-scale clinical trial of Novartis AFQ056. Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis and colleagues aim to show that this targeted treatment — an mGluR5 blocker for Fragile X which failed in previous adult human trials — can be better evaluated by studying effects on learning in young children.
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Can a combination of drugs make a meaningful difference for people with Fragile X? A new clinical trial is going to find out. 15-20 adult men with Fragile X will be included in this upcoming trial, which will test the effects of an available drug and a nutritional supplement taken together.
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Dr. Mark Gurney, CEO of Tetra Therapeutics, discusses how one of the earliest clues to the biology of Fragile X led to the most successful Fragile X clinical trial to date. FRAXA and Tetra began working together after a key FRAXA-funded study caught the attention of Dr. Gurney. Through the FRAXA Drug Validation Initiative, Dr. Patricia Cogram was able to conduct preclinical validation experiments with Tetra’s lead compound in record time, paving the way for clinical trials.
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The Pierce Family Fragile X Foundation helping to fund a joint grant to the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Rush University Medical Center in exploring biomarkers to measure whether a treatment is helping and determine how to optimize treatment for each individual.
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In conjunction with World Fragile X Day 2021, FRAXA Research Foundation is proud to recognize its annual award recipients. This year’s recipients exemplify the perseverance and dedication that has made FRAXA a global leader in Fragile X research for nearly 30 years. We are fortunate to partner with these individuals on research, community support and awareness efforts.
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In November 2020, a phase II clinical trial reported extremely successful results. This clinical trial of a PDE4D inhibitor from Tetra Pharmaceuticals was conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis at Rush University Medical Center and funded by FRAXA Research Foundation. In this Simons Foundation lecture, Elizabeth Berry-Kravis traces 30 years of Fragile X research, from identifying its cause, through finding dozens of treatment targets, through a series of disappointing clinical trials.
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Today, Tetra Therapeutics announces the first unequivocally positive phase 2 clinical trial in Fragile X syndrome, press release below. The results do not depend on carving out a subset of patients or post hoc analysis.
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FRAXA Research Foundation has funded a clinical trial of an investigational new drug, led by Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis at the Rush Fragile X Clinic in Chicago. This trial will treat 30 adult males with Fragile X syndrome with a PDE4D allosteric inhibitor from Tetra Discovery Partners using in a crossover design, so that everyone gets active drug for part of the time and placebo for part of the time.
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This 2-Period Crossover Study of BPN14770 is accepting adults males with Fragile X syndrome at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Principal Investigator of the study is Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, MD, PhD.
A selective inhibitor of the phosphodiesterase type-4D (PDE4D), BPN14770 has shown the ability to improve the quality of connections between neurons and to improve multiple behavioral outcomes in the Fragile X mouse model.
Rush University Medical Center Professor Elizabeth M. Berry-Kravis, MD, PhD, has launched and is recruiting participants for a large-scale clinical trial to study effects of AFQ056, an mGluR5 blocker, on learning in young children.
Read moreWith $281,824 in funding from FRAXA Research Foundation from 2002-2011, Dr. Berry-Kravis at the Rush University Medical Center attempted to validate a new automated video tracking system for quantifying physical activity as an outcome measure for Fragile X clinical trials.
Read moreWith a $65,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation in 2005, Dr. Berry-Kravis at the Rush University Medical Center conducted a pilot clinical trial of lithium in 15 patients with Fragile X syndrome. Results published.
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