BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. and Invitae Corporation announced that Biogen, Encoded Therapeutics, Neurogene, Praxis Precision Medicines, and PTC Therapeutics joined Behind the Seizure®, an innovative, cross-company collaboration that aims to provide faster diagnosis for young children with epilepsy. The program will also be expanded to make no-charge testing available for healthcare providers to order for any child under the age of eight who has an unprovoked seizure.
“Behind the Seizure is one of the longest-running cross-company collaborations aimed at increasing access to genetic testing. It has been shown to decrease time to diagnosis for children experiencing unprovoked seizures by one to two years from reported averages, and as more companies have joined the program, more children have been helped,” said Robert Nussbaum, chief medical officer of Invitae. “Earlier diagnosis enables clinicians to focus on providing disease-specific care sooner, which is particularly important in neurodegenerative diseases. We applaud these companies for their commitment to expanding this unique effort to help children.”