Centogene Enters Agreement with Aldeyra Therapeutics Focused on Sjögren-Larsson Syndrome

Rare Daily Staff

Centogene said it has entered into a collaboration with Aldeyra Therapeutics to globally identify patients with Sjögren-Larsson Syndrome and to understand the clinical spectrum of the disease, raise awareness, and potentially lead to the identification of new treatments.

SLS is a rare genetic disease characterized by a broad spectrum of symptoms including: severely dry, thickened, scaly skin; spasticity in the legs; and cognitive delay. Patients suffering from SLS cannot properly break down molecules called fatty aldehydes resulting in an abnormal accumulation of these molecules leading to symptoms of the disease. There is currently no FDA-approved treatment for SLS.

“The majority of patients with a rare hereditary disease endure a considerable diagnostic odyssey before they have certainty about their condition,” said Arndt Rolfs, CEO and founder of Centogene. “Global awareness of SLS is very limited, which means that physicians often don’t even think of SLS when being confronted with the patient’s symptoms and consequently don’t perform the required genetic tests.”

As part of the collaboration, Aldeyra will have access to Centogene’s genetic database of patients.

“The partnership with Centogene complements the Aldeyra Registry for Patients with SLS, which was designed to unite patients and raise global awareness for the disease,” said David Clark, Chief Medical Officer of Aldeyra. “Additionally, having access to Centogene’s genetic database of patients with SLS demonstrates the critical role of genetics in identifying patients and developing medicines for diseases where treatments are non-existent.”

May 29, 2018
Photo: Arndt Rolfs, CEO and founder of Centogene