Supporting Huntington’s Disease Families Through the Ups and Downs of Clinical Trials

Recent years have been turbulent ones for the Huntington’s disease (HD) community. Three clinical trials for HD, including the first Phase 3 trial of a potentially disease modifying genetic therapy for HD, were all brought to a halt in March of 2021. 2022 brought more study roadblocks and an additional trial termination. As HD science progresses and larger scale trials become more frequent in the community, HD families are faced with the difficult reality that clinical research rarely results in a new drug hitting the market. To better understand how the HD community can be prepared for the ups and downs that accompany an expanding clinical research pipeline, the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) spoke with members of the Huntington’s Disease Coalition for Patient Engagement (HD-COPE). This group of global advocates led by HDSA and the Huntington’s Society of Canada (HSC) collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to ensure that HD voices are represented in the planning of clinical trials. These conversations allowed HDSA to summarize how the HD community can be best supported through the clinical research process in three key areas: engagement, support, and education.