Precigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGEN), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative gene and cell therapies to improve the lives of patients, today announced that the Company has teamed up with the Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis Foundation (RRPF) to launch the first RRP Awareness Day™ on June 11, 2024, a multi-stakeholder event to raise awareness about recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) and bring together RRP patients and their caregivers to encourage new connections and build community among those interested in and affected by this devastating disease.
Awareness activities will culminate in an inaugural event on June 11th featuring a moderated panel discussion with RRP patients and caregivers, insights from RRP clinicians, and a policy discussion with government officials. The inaugural event will be hybrid with both in-person participation at the Press Club in Washington DC and a webcast for virtual participation.
“As a patient and an advocate on behalf of the RRP community, I am thrilled to team up with Precigen to raise awareness about RRP and bring together critical stakeholders to engage in a dialogue on important aspects impacting individuals living with RRP,” said Kim McClellan, Board President, RRPF. “We would like to invite and encourage anyone living with RRP, either as a patient, family member or caregiver, to join us in spreading the word about RRP and participate in this event.”
“We are incredibly proud to join forces with the RRPF to establish the first global RRP Awareness Day to bring visibility to the many challenges experienced by RRP patients and to help forge connections among patients, clinicians and government officials. At Precigen, finding new solutions for patients is why we come to work every day and we are proud of our work to engage the patient community in designing and progressing our RRP clinical trials. The RRPF and their robust community have helped us to ensure that the patient voice is integrated into our RRP program and we look forward to working together in the years to come to by ‘giving voice to inspire change’, our theme for our RRP awareness activities and our rally cry until there’s a readily available cure for this devastating disease,” said Helen Sabzevari, PhD, President and CEO of Precigen.
RRP is a rare, difficult-to-treat disease of the upper and lower respiratory tracts that is caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) 6 or HPV 11. There are no FDA-approved therapeutics for the treatment of RRP and the current standard-of-care involves recurring surgeries to remove benign tumors that repeatedly grow along the respiratory tract. RRP can cause severe voice disturbance, airway compromise, fatal pulmonary lesions, and invasive cancers.
