How Patient Advocate-Led Research Can Alter a Rare Disease Landscape

When Sandra Bedrosian Sermone grew frustrated by the slow pace of a drug developer working to advance a potential therapy for ANDP, a rare condition her son has, she and another parent of a child with neurodevelopmental disorder began to search for a potential drug to repurpose. Their work suggested low doses of the powerful anesthetic ketamine could up regulate activity of the ADNP gene and provide benefit to patients. Now, a clinical trial of low-dose ketamine is getting underway thanks to their efforts. We spoke to Bedrosian-Sermone, founder and president of the ADNP Kids Research Foundation, about ADNP, her efforts to find a potential treatment for it, and how a patient advocate without formal science training can alter the therapeutic landscape for a rare disease.