Living with Rare Disease: Maria’s Journey from Diagnosis to Hope

October 29, 2024 · 5 min read

When Maria Fernández was diagnosed with a rare metabolic disorder at age 34, doctors in her hometown of Valencia, Spain told her there were no treatment options. Today, she shares her story of perseverance.

«I visited 11 specialists over two years before anyone could tell me what was wrong,» Maria recalls. «The uncertainty was harder than the symptoms themselves.»

Her condition, affecting fewer than 1 in 50,000 people in Europe, causes progressive muscle weakness and fatigue. In 2019, Maria learned about an experimental treatment through a patient advocacy group in Barcelona.

She enrolled in our Phase II clinical trial in January 2020, becoming one of 89 participants across 7 countries. The study required monthly visits to Madrid—a 350-kilometer journey each way—for 18 months.

«By the sixth month, I noticed I could climb stairs again without stopping,» she says. «Small things that healthy people take for granted became celebrations.»

The treatment received conditional approval from the European Medicines Agency in March 2023. Maria now receives infusions every 8 weeks at her local hospital in Valencia and has returned to her work as a primary school teacher.

«I tell other patients: don’t give up. Research takes time, but there are people working every day to find answers. I am living proof.»

Demo Brand is committed to rare disease research, with 12 programs currently in development targeting conditions affecting fewer than 200,000 patients worldwide.

The Future of Personalized Medicine: 5 Trends Shaping 2025

November 18, 2024 · 6 min read

Personalized medicine is no longer a distant promise. Here are the five developments our research teams believe will define the landscape in the coming year.

1. AI-Driven Drug Discovery Accelerates

Machine learning models are reducing early-stage discovery timelines from 4–5 years to approximately 18 months. Our internal data shows a 67% improvement in candidate identification accuracy since implementing AI tools in 2021.

2. Biomarker Testing Becomes Standard

Regulatory agencies in the EU, US, and Japan now require companion diagnostics for 23% of new oncology approvals, up from just 8% in 2018. This shift demands tighter integration between diagnostic and therapeutic development.

3. Decentralized Clinical Trials Expand

Remote patient monitoring and digital endpoints are enabling trials with participants in over 50 countries simultaneously. Our CARDIO-REMOTE study enrolled 2,847 patients across 31 nations without requiring a single in-person visit.

4. Gene Therapy Manufacturing Scales

Production costs for viral vectors have dropped 42% since 2020. Three of our European manufacturing sites have completed upgrades to support commercial-scale gene therapy production by Q2 2025.

5. Real-World Evidence Gains Regulatory Weight

The FDA accepted real-world data as primary evidence in 14 approval decisions last year. We are investing €45 million in data infrastructure to capture outcomes from 1.2 million patients across our partner hospital networks.

Demo Brand Opens New Research Facility in Singapore

December 3, 2024 · 4 min read

We are proud to announce the opening of our newest research and development center in Singapore, marking our largest investment in the Asia-Pacific region to date.

The 12,000 square meter facility, located in Biopolis, will house 340 scientists and researchers specializing in oncology and immunotherapy. Construction began in March 2022, and the project was completed three months ahead of schedule at a total cost of S$180 million.

«Singapore represents a strategic hub for innovation,» said Dr. Helena Lindqvist, Chief Scientific Officer. «By 2027, we expect this facility to contribute to at least 15 new drug candidates entering clinical trials.»

The center will collaborate closely with the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, building on existing partnerships established in 2019. Initial focus areas include CAR-T cell therapy and next-generation antibody development.

This expansion brings our global research footprint to 8 dedicated facilities across Germany, the United States, Japan, Brazil, and now Singapore.