Expanded Access, or “compassionate use” as it is often referred, allows patients with a terminal diagnosis early access to new therapeutics that show promise – even if the patient is not involved in the ongoing clinical trial – or if the medication has not yet been approved by the FDA.
The ALS Association has launched a new funding opportunity to support exploratory research that has the potential for a significant impact on the fight against ALS.
Earlier today the FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee voted 6 to 4 against recommending AMX0035 for approval to treat people with ALS. It’s important to note that the Advisory Committee’s views are not binding on the FDA. Following the vote, the ALS Association called on the FDA to take into account the strong safety profile of AMX0035, as well as the serious unmet medical need of people living with this devastating condition, and approve the drug for clinical use.
The ALS community has the opportunity to encourage The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve Amylyx Pharmaceutical’s new drug application for AMX0035.
The ALS Association has formally objected to the use of controversial measures to evaluate ALS drugs that can make it harder to find effective new ALS treatments and get them to the ALS community as quickly as possible. These measures have been identified by the National Council on Disability as being inherently discriminatory against people with disabilities.
We asked the FDA to treat the approval review process of AMX0035 with urgency. Specifically, we sent a letter to FDA asking the agency to conduct a Priority Review of Amylyx’s New Drug Application (NDA) for AMX0035 and then approve it. The Priority Review is an expedited review process, as opposed to the Standard Review process, which can take upwards of a year after the agency accepts submission of the NDA.
Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies (ACT) for ALS (H.R. 3537) was approved by a unanimous vote on Thursday, November 4 in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. Thanks to everyone within the ALS community who has advocated for passage and who has worked on Capitol Hill to help make this important step happen. The strong bipartisan support for this bill means smooth sailing as the bill goes to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee and then the full House for approval.
Amylyx recently filed a New Drug Application for AMX0035, a promising new drug that has proven safe and effective at slowing progression of ALS and extending the life of people living with the disease. The ALS Association has called on the FDA to approve the application with urgency.
After Amylyx’s announced that it intends to file a new drug application for AMX0035, The ALS Association immediately called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the treatment for all people with ALS as soon as possible. Connecting ALS talked to the team at Amylyx to learn about the path ahead for access to AMX0035.
There is a lot to do, and this grounded focus of making ALS livable helps us hold everyone—ourselves, the FDA, and the research community—accountable to real impacts on real people with ALS and the time it takes to deliver those impacts. This week has been a big step forward for the ALS community, and we will continue urgently working to keep the momentum going.