Clinical Trials
Working Toward a Treatment Together

ASF is committed to helping you understand what it means to participate in a clinical trial and provide you with personalized research opportunities.

What Are Clinical Trials?

Clinical trials test the safety and effectiveness of a therapy or drug. After drugs or procedures are tested in the lab and in animals, the most promising treatments are moved into clinical trials to find out how well they work in humans.

Types of Treatments & Therapies

Current research for Angelman syndrome concentrates on gene therapy, an experimental technique that uses genes (instead of drugs or surgery) to treat or prevent disease. The most popular approaches to gene therapy include:

1.

Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of the same gene.

2.

Inactivating, “knocking out,” or “knocking down” a mutated gene that is not working correctly.

3.

Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease.

How New Therapies Are Developed

The development of any new drug or therapy for Angelman syndrome must adhere to a scientifically rigorous and well-regulated process. This process ensures that any new treatment is both safe and effective before it becomes available to the public. The path to therapy development is divided into distinct stages and takes many years before it moves into Clinical Trials.

Basic Research
(1 to 10+ Years)

Drug Discovery
(1 to 3 Years)

Pre-Clinical
(2 to 5 Years)

IND Enabling
(1 to 2+ Years)

Clinical Trial Phases

Once a drug therapy moves into the Clinical Trial phase, the trials follow a strict protocol that’s divided into four phases. This process can take from six to 10 years.

0

1

Phase 1

Safety & Dosage

0

2

Phase 2

Safety & Efficacy

0

3

Phase 3

Side Effects & Efficacy

0

4

Phase 4

FDA Review

Current Angelman Therapeutic Development

The below companies have Angelman therapeutics in their pipeline.

Company Name
Therapy
Phase
Neuren
NNZ-2591
3
Ionis
ION582 (ASO)
3
Ultragenyx
GTX-102 (ASO)
3
Oak Hill Bio
Rugonersen (ASO)
3
MavriX Bio
MVX-220 (AAV)
1
Roche
Alogobat (GABA-modulator)
1
Lixte
LB-100
Pre-clinical development
BIOM Therapeutics
BIO017 (Cannabidiol)
Pre-clinical development
UPENN / UNC-AskBio / Bamboo-Pfizer / StrideBio-Sarepta
Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV)
Pre-clinical development
Encoded
ETX201 (AAV-mediated Gene Therapy)
Pre-clinical development
Brown University
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)
Pre-clinical development
Brown University
Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells (novel approach)
Pre-clinical development
UNC
Dual-isoform UBE3A gene therapy (AAV)
Pre-clinical development
UNC
CRISPR-CAS9
Pre-clinical development
Transformatx Biotherapeutics
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy
Pre-clinical development
Denali
OTV-ASO (ASO)
Pre-clinical development
CourageAS
CRISPR
Pre-clinical development
UC Davis
Artificial Transcription Factors/Zinc Fingers (ATF-ZF)
Pre-clinical development
Healx
HLX-0553 (Small Molecule)
Pre-clinical development
Uconn-Ovid / UTSW
shRNA
Discovery
UNC-Pinnacle Hill
Small Molecule
Discovery
Keck Graduate Institute
Cell Penetrating Peptide (CRISPR)
Discovery
Keck Graduate Institute
Enzyme Replacement Therapy
Discovery
University of California San Francisco
CRISPRa
Discovery

Angelman Syndrome Clinical Trials

Find information related to all Angelman syndrome clinical trials listed below from clinicaltrials.gov

 

NOTE: Some trials may reference Angelman syndrome in the descriptions but are not specifically designed for individuals with Angelman syndrome. Consult with your healthcare provider or the study contact to confirm whether a particular trial is appropriate for Angelman syndrome patients.

Status
Clinical Trials Status
Country
Clinical Trials Country
Sponsor
Clinical Trials Sponsor
RECRUITING
NCT07157254
A Safety and Efficacy Study of GTX-102 in Subjects With Deletion- or Nondeletion-type Angelman Syndrome (AS)
Start Date:
November 1, 2025
United States
Hillsborough,
North Carolina,
United States
Sponsor:
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc
Ages Eligible:
1 Years
to 64 Years

The main goal of the study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of GTX-102 in participants with Angelman Syndrome.

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NOT YET RECRUITING
NCT07079696
Investigating the Therapeutic Efficacy of All-trans Retinoic Acid in Autism Spectrum Disorder Patients With 15q11-13 Duplication Syndrome
Start Date:
September 1, 2025
China
Hangzhou,
Zhejiang,
China
Sponsor:
Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University
Ages Eligible:
3 Years
to 7 Years

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) , hereafter referred to as autism, is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders caused by genetic and environmental factors. Its core symptoms are social impairment, repetitive stereotyped behaviors, and restricted interests.

The 15q11-13 region of the human chromosome is a locus prone to structural abnormalities leading to neurological disorders. Maternal duplications within this region lead to Dup15q syndrome , which accounts for approximately 1% of ASD cases .

This region harbors multiple alleles, and current research indicates that the pathophysiological alterations in this syndrome primarily involve UBE3A . Among all genes in the 15q11-13 region, only UBE3A exhibits cell-type-specific maternal monoallelic expression . Consequently, duplication of the UBE3A gene is considered the primary pathogenic factor in the pathology of Dup15q syndrome.

Studies show that the metabolic conversion of retinol to retinoic acid is impaired in ASD patients with UBE3A overexpression and corresponding animal models . Notably, dietary supplementation with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been shown to significantly ameliorate autism-like behaviors caused by UBE3A overexpression in male mice .

This study aims to evaluate ATRA treatment in children with Dup15q syndrome-related autism , assessing changes in their ADOS-2 scores , to potentially provide a novel therapeutic approach for autism treatment.

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RECRUITING
NCT07181837
A Phase 1/2 Study of the Safety and Efficacy of MVX-220 in Angelman Syndrome
Start Date:
October 1, 2025
United States
Chicago,
Illinois,
United States
Sponsor:
MavriX Bio, LLC
Ages Eligible:
4 Years
to 50 Years

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MVX-220 gene therapy in children and adults with Angelman syndrome with UBE3A gene deletion, uniparental disomy, or imprinting center defect genotypes.

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NOT YET RECRUITING
NCT06878716
Silver Russell Syndrome, Parental Fertility and Assisted Reproductive Technology
Start Date:
March 1, 2025
France
Paris,
France
Sponsor:
Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
Ages Eligible:
18 Years
and older

Silver Russell Syndrome (SRS) is a rare imprinting disorder (about 1/16000). Parental imprinting is an epigenetic regulation phenomenon leading to the monoallelic expression of some genes. Its establishment takes place in the gametes and its maintenance is important at the early embryonic stage. Increase in the prevalence of conception by assisted reproductive technology (ART) has already been found in patients with imprinted disorder such as Angelman, Beckwith-Wiedemann or Prader Willi Syndromes, and more recently with SRS; ART is associated with an increase in the frequency of SRS. Several hypotheses are formulated to explain this increase. The first one is the involvement of the infertility etiology in the imprinting disorder genesis. The second one is the involvement of ART technics in the genesis of abnormal gamete imprinting during their manipulation or during imprinting maintenance at early embryonic stages.

Our main objective is to estimate ART conceptions prevalence in children followed for a SRS. The secondary objectives are to estimate infertility prevalence among parents of patients with SRS, to estimate factors frequency possibly responsible for the genesis of imprinting anomalies among parents of patients with SRS, to describe the infertility causes and to detail ART technics used (stimulation protocols, type of fertilization used, modality of embryonic culture and transfer, embryonic characteristics).

A transversal pilote study will be firstly conducted in parents of patients followed in Silver Russell Syndrome Reference Center (Pediatric Endocrine department, in Trousseau Hospital, Paris).

Data collection will be done by phone, after collecting the non-opposition of the parents, in order to complete a questionnaire concerning their fertility and conception mode of their child. If ART was used to conceive, a questionnaire concerning the details of the ART technics used will be sent to the doctor and:or the ART biologist, who performed the ART. The data will be anonymized and collected on a REDCap database.

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RECRUITING
NCT06914609
REVEAL: A Phase 3 Study of ION582 in Angelman Syndrome
Start Date:
June 10, 2025
United States
Los Angeles,
California,
United States
Sponsor:
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Ages Eligible:
2 Years
to 50 Years

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ION582 in children and adults with Angelman syndrome caused by a deletion or mutation of the UBE3A gene.

More
RECRUITING
NCT06737718
Use of Eye Tracking to Study Social Perception Abnormalities in Children With Angelman Syndrome
Start Date:
February 25, 2025
France
Paris,
France
Sponsor:
Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
Ages Eligible:
3 Years
to 17 Years

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a rare neurogenetic disorder that affects approximately 1 in 15,000 children - approximately 500,000 people worldwide. It is a major neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe developmental delay with significant intellectual disability, lack of oral language, motor, balance, and sensory impairments.

While basic research and clinical trials are progressing, the scientific community is still searching for key biomarkers to assess significant improvements in individuals participating in clinical trials.

Eye tracking has been widely used in the diagnosis of social perception abnormalities in children with autism spectrum disorder, as has already been the case for other rare neurodevelopmental diseases. However, few studies have highlighted the usefulness of eye tracking as a diagnostic tool for social behavioral disorders in individuals with Angelman syndrome. Given the prevalence of autistic-like symptoms in patients with AS, if eye-tracking can identify abnormalities in social perception in children with Angelman syndrome, these measurements could become a biomarker for therapeutic studies in these patients.

More

Clinical trials are a type of research designed to answer specific medical questions such as, is this treatment safe for patients or how well does the treatment work? The research follows a very specific process and involves testing the new drugs, medicines, or devices on real people.

Each clinical trial asks a question. Some questions will be answered more quickly than others. That’s why the length of each trial is different. Details for each particular study can be found in the informed consent document. 

Participants in clinical trials help researchers find out if new medicines or devices are safe and truly help the patient. They provide new information about a disease or process that can help current and future patients live a fuller life. Being in a trial might also give you access to new treatments before they are approved and available to others. 

There are no laws against participating in more than one clinical trial at the same time. However, you should check with the PI of the current clinical trial you are participating in (or in each trial you are interested in) to see if that is an exclusion criteria. 

The website, www.ClinicalTrials.gov, provides a list of clinical trials in the US. You can select a specific disorder on their site and sign up for notification of new trials. Parents or caregivers of an individual diagnosed with Angelman syndrome can complete the ASF Contact Registry. As new information about clinical trials becomes available, we share it with Angelman families.

Most clinical trials take place where people already go for medical care – a doctor’s office or clinic. These locations can be near you or require travel. The details for each study can be found in the informed consent document.  

Not all studies pay for travel to and from the trial site. When travel is included, payment takes many forms including reimbursement for gas or taxi services. Some communities use Uber, Lyft, and similar companies to transport participants to the study location. Details related to travel costs will be in the informed consent document and you can ask about compensation for trial costs at any time. Please note that the IRS requires study payments of $600 or more to be reported on tax returns.

Eligibility requirements are usually different for every clinical trial. Check the clinical trial information on ClinicalTrials.gov for full eligibility requirements. Your individual’s doctor can help you evaluate possible options.

No rule or regulation requires sponsors to pay study participants; however, many offer compensation of some kind. Money, travel reimbursement, free health care, free screening exams and other tests are the most common forms of compensation. Details related to payment are in the informed consent document. Please note that the IRS requires study payments of $600 or more to be reported on tax returns.

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