Project ALS Granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Prosetin for the Treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Project ALS, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that funds research toward the first meaningful treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), announced today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to prosetin for the treatment of ALS. Prosetin is an oral, brain penetrant MAP4 kinase inhibitor developed by scientists at Columbia University for the treatment of ALS. Project ALS funded prosetin's preclinical development and is sponsoring its translational and potential clinical development.

Orphan status, a designation established by the U.S. Orphan Drug Act of 1983, provides incentives for the development of drugs, biologics, and devices for diseases affecting 200,000 or fewer Americans. By obtaining orphan drug designation, prosetin is now eligible for benefits including up to seven years of marketing exclusivity if it receives regulatory approval, exemption from FDA user fees, FDA assistance in clinical trial design, and tax credits for clinical research.

"Receiving orphan drug designation is an important milestone," said Meredith Estess, president and co-founder of Project ALS. "While prosetin's development is a non-profit effort driven by our commitment to ALS patients, we are proud to oversee this process with the same rigor and diligence as would any drug company."

About Project ALS
Jenifer Estess, her sisters and friends, started Project ALS in 1998, when Jenifer was diagnosed with ALS. Project ALS shifted the paradigm of ALS research, requiring its funded researchers and doctors to work together in small teams, toward a new standard of results-oriented accountability. In twenty years, Project ALS has overseen productive research collaborations among 25 leading institutions leading to the discovery of over 60 ALS genes, the development of the world's first patient-based models of ALS, and now, the acceleration of ALS drug testing and clinical trials. Learn more at projectals.org.

SOURCE Project ALS