Cydan Celebrates Rare Disease Day With Gift To Support The Children’s National Rare Disease Institute

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cydan Development, Inc., an orphan drug accelerator dedicated to creating therapies that improve the lives of people living with rare genetic diseases, today announced its support for Rare Disease Day by making a gift to newly formed Children’s National Rare Disease Institute (CNRDI). This gift will go toward the CNRDI’s Innovation Fund, which supports new projects including diagnostics, devices, research, therapeutics, and process engineering, which will help advance the care and experience for children with rare diseases.

“We are grateful for Cydan’s support of the Children’s National Rare Disease Institute”

“We are grateful for Cydan’s support of the Children’s National Rare Disease Institute,” said Marshall Summar, MD, chief of Genetics and Metabolism at Children’s National and chairman of the board at the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). “With philanthropic investments from companies like Cydan, we will redefine the standard of care for children with genetic disorders, especially those largely unknown to the general medical community.”

Chris Adams, Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer at Cydan, said, “We are proud to support Children’s National and this first-of-its-kind center in the U.S. focused exclusively on advancing the care and treatment of children and adults with rare genetic diseases. Rare diseases affect approximately 30 million Americans, and it’s heartening to see more resources dedicated to the identification, treatment and cure of these disorders.”

As one of the first philanthropic contributions to the CNRDI Innovation Fund, Cydan’s gift will help to serve as a catalyst for rare disease care initiatives and help create an ever-expanding clinical knowledge base that advances the testing and development of rare disease therapies.

Rare Disease Day^®

Rare Disease Day^® is an annual awareness day celebrated worldwide. This day is dedicated to elevating public understanding of rare diseases and calling attention to the special challenges faced by patients and their families. Rare Disease Day takes place every year on the last day of February to underscore the scientific, medical and social issues that affect this population. It was established in Europe in 2008 by EURORDIS, the organization representing rare disease patients in Europe, and is now observed in more than 80 nations. Rare Disease Day is sponsored by the National Organization for Rare Disorders^® (NORD^®), a leading independent, nonprofit organization committed to the identification, treatment, and cure of rare diseases.

About Cydan Development, Inc.

Cydan is an orphan drug accelerator dedicated to delivering therapies that will significantly improve the lives of people living with rare genetic diseases. Cydan evaluates experimental new therapies and advances those with the highest potential to be disease modifying treatments. Cydan’s goal is to launch new companies focused on developing promising therapies for rare genetic diseases with high unmet medical need. Vtesse, Cydan’s first new company, was launched in January 2015 and is developing a novel therapy for Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NPC). Imara was launched in 2016 and is developing a novel treatment for Sickle Cell disease. Cydan was founded in 2013 by a management team with extensive drug discovery, clinical development and business development experience and financed by leading life sciences investors NEA, Pfizer Venture Investments, Lundbeckfond Ventures, Bay City Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments. The accelerator is based in Tech Square in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, visit http://www.cydanco.com or contact Cydan at info@cydanco.com.

About Children’s National Health System

Children’s National Health System, based in Washington, DC, has been serving the nation’s children since 1870. Children’s National is ranked in the top 20 in every specialty evaluated by U.S. News & World Report; one of only four children’s hospitals in the nation to earn this distinction. Designated a Leapfrog Group Top Hospital and a two-time recipient of Magnet® status, this pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a convenient, community-based primary care network and specialty outpatient centers. Home to the Children’s Research Institute and the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children’s National is one of the nation’s top NIH-funded pediatric institutions. Children’s National is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional and national levels. For more information, visit ChildrensNational.org.