Save the date!
November 8, 2022, 10 am – 3 pm ET
(Please note this is election day in the U.S. Please vote early!)
The Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Externally-Led Patient Focused Drug Development (EL-PFDD) Meeting gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other key stakeholders, including medical product developers, health care providers, and federal partners, an important opportunity to hear directly from patients, their families, caregivers, and patient advocates about the symptoms that matter most to them, the impact the disease has on patients’ daily lives, and patients’ experiences with currently available treatments.
CureSHANK is sponsoring the event and co-planning it with the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation. Our organizations invite and encourage you to attend. Come and share about the impact PMS has had on your family and symptom improvements that would benefit you and your loved ones.
Due to uncertainty about COVID-19 and to protect the health of individuals with PMS, the meeting is being held virtually.
Q&A:
Q: What is an externally-led Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) Meeting?
A: PFDD meetings integrate patient insights into the drug development process. Following the successful model that the FDA developed to host similar meetings, the half-day event will focus primarily on a range of patient viewpoints on Phelan-McDermid syndrome, covering the symptoms and impacts on daily life that are most important to patients and parents and their perspectives on existing and future treatments. This input can help inform the FDA’s decisions and oversight during drug development and the approval of new therapies.
Q: What makes our PFDD meeting so important?
A: Among the 7,000+ known rare diseases, only a few dozen have ever held an EL-PFDD meeting with the FDA. This meeting will increase awareness of the impacts of PMS and educate the FDA and other stakeholders about the challenges of living with PMS and inform regulatory (FDA) decision-making.
Q: What is the format of the meeting?
A: The agenda will consist of speakers and discussion starters who will speak about living with PMS. There will be two panels consisting of caregivers, who will provide insights about the challenges individuals with PMS face. This groundbreaking meeting will include facilitated discussions to provide additional perspectives from remote participants.
Q: Why is it important to educate the FDA?
A: Our goal is to inform the FDA and other stakeholders in the drug development process about the impact that PMS has on quality of life for individuals and their families. The PFDD meeting gives the PMS community the opportunity to inform the FDA and other stakeholders about what matters most.
Q: Who should attend the EL-PFDD Meeting?
A: Numbers matter! All PMS community members (individuals with PMS, caregivers, and family members) should join us by webcast to strengthen our meeting impact. We encourage participation from people around the world. PMS knows no boundaries and we need to include the perspective of our global community. Researchers from academia and industry are also encouraged to attend. We want your support and partnership.
Q: How can I contribute to the meeting and mission?
A: There are many ways you can contribute.
- Get the word out and post to social media #PMSPFDD
- Urge fellow members of the PMS community to attend the meeting
- Actively participate in the live polling during the meeting (instructions will be provided on the day of the meeting).