With your support, FPWR and PWSA | USA have been granted a meeting with the FDA, which will take place via teleconference later this month. This small, non-public meeting will allow FPWR and PWSA | USA to connect firsthand with the FDA staff and share important information that should be considered during the review of new drugs for PWS. While the meeting will not be about a specific drug, it will allow us to share our rare communities’ perspective and ensure the FDA has a full understanding of the unique challenges of PWS, with a particular focus on issues related to clinical trials. During the meeting we will:
- Review PWS patient experience data that documents unmet medical need, severity of PWS, and treatment preferences and priorities
- Share the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PWS families and its implications for clinical trials
- Share the community’s tolerance for risk for even modest improvements in PWS-associated behaviors
- Discuss the Agency’s perspective on how regulatory flexibility can be applied to efficiently advance new medical products that are safe and effective for PWS
- Invite the FDA to ask further questions that will help them better understand our treatment needs and preferences moving forward
We thank our community of supporters for taking action and supporting our joint advocacy efforts. We look forward to sharing a post-meeting summary with you soon!
Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.