Medical Research & Technology

Boston – October 28, 2026 -- People living with Friedreich's ataxia (FA) have a new gene therapy candidate heading toward human testing: Solid Biosciences says the FDA has cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for SGT-212, with a Phase 1b trial planned for the second half of 2025.

SGT-212 attacks FA through two delivery routes

The company describes SGT-212 as the first gene therapy in the industry to use a dual route of administration. It delivers full-length frataxin protein in two ways:

United States – October 28, 2026 -- Solid Biosciences has dosed 40 participants with its Duchenne gene therapy SGT-003 and reported positive interim safety and biomarker data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 INSPIRE DUCHENNE trial. The company presented the update at the 2026 MDA Clinical & Scientific Conference.

The therapy delivers a shortened dystrophin protein

SGT-003 delivers microdystrophin, a shortened version of dystrophin designed to help support and protect muscle cells during movement. The data show robust microdystrophin expression. They also show restoration of beta-sarcoglycan and nNOS, proteins that normally work with dystrophin in the dystrophin-associated protein complex (DAPC), the muscle cell support system.

United States – October 27, 2026 -- Solid Biosciences has expanded its INSPIRE DUCHENNE gene therapy trial to 43 participants and now accepts children aged 4 to under 12, up from the previous range of 4 to under 8.

Three participants dosed with no serious adverse events

INSPIRE DUCHENNE is a first-in-human, multicenter, Phase 1/2 open-label study. It tests the safety, tolerability and efficacy of a single intravenous infusion of SGT-003, a next-generation AAV gene therapy candidate, in ambulant boys with Duchenne.

Three participants have been dosed so far. According to Solid, SGT-003 has been well tolerated to date, and no serious adverse events have been reported. The company plans to share safety, expression and biomarker data from these first three patients, along with a trial update, in the first quarter of 2025.

Global – October 27, 2026 -- Fifty-three boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy have now received the investigational gene therapy SGT-003, and a Phase 3 trial is already enrolling patients in Australia and Canada. Solid Biosciences shared the update in a letter to the Duchenne community as the annual Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) conference got under way.

The Phase 1/2 trial spans ages 0 to 10

The count comes from the Phase 1/2 INSPIRE DUCHENNE trial and reflects a June 22, 2026, enrollment cutoff. Participants range from 0 to 10 years old. One of them is a 6-month-old boy who, to the company's knowledge, is the youngest child ever dosed with a microdystrophin gene therapy.

Solid reports no cases of four serious safety conditions

The company describes SGT-003 as generally well tolerated. It reports no observed cases of drug-induced liver injury, myocarditis, thrombotic microangiopathy or atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome.

United States – October 27, 2026 -- Fifteen people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy had received the investigational gene therapy SGT-003 in the INSPIRE DUCHENNE clinical study as of August 12, 2025, according to developer Solid Biosciences.

Ten trial sites span four countries

The multi-center, open-label trial now runs 10 active clinical sites in the United States, Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom. More sites are expected to open later this year.

Solid Biosciences expects to have treated at least 20 patients aged 0 to under 12 by the end of 2025. It anticipates widening enrollment to older patients in 2026.

Fauquier County – October 15, 2026 -- Virginia Cancer Specialists will open its relocated, larger Fauquier office at 410 Rosedale Court, Suite 270, in Warrenton, VA on November 9, 2026. The move keeps oncology care local for patients in Fauquier County and the surrounding region.

Patients keep their doctors in a bigger space

Patients will continue to see the physicians and care team they already know. The practice says the new facility is designed for a smoother, more compassionate patient experience.

Care under one roof includes medical oncology, hematology, supportive services, care coordination and patient navigation. The larger site is meant to meet growing demand, so patients can be treated without traveling far from family, work and support systems.

Ventura County – October 14, 2026 -- Tickets are available for the St. John's Healthcare Foundation's 2027 gala, Adventure. Seats cost $450 each, and all proceeds go to cancer care in Ventura County. The black-tie evening takes place Saturday, May 1, 2027, at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village.

Every dollar raised supports St. John's Cancer Services

The foundation says 100 percent of gala funds will support St. John's Cancer Services. The money is meant to continue and expand access to advanced imaging technology, infusion treatments and oncology services across the county.

The event starts at 4:30 p.m. with a reception featuring tasting stations. It continues with a multi-course meal, wine, entertainment, and silent and live auctions. This year's Spain-inspired theme is "Beneath the Spanish Sky: Rhythm, Recognition and Rich Tradition."

Baltimore – – October 13, 2026 -- Mercy Medical Center is offering selected prostate cancer patients stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) that can be finished in as few as five sessions, using its upgraded Varian TrueBeam radiotherapy system.

The five treatments take place over about two weeks. The usual alternative is daily radiation spread over many weeks.

TrueBeam targets tumors to less than a millimeter

According to Kelly Orwat, M.D., Director of Radiation Oncology at Mercy, the system can target tumors in increments of less than a millimeter. It combines image guidance with focused radiation designed to spare surrounding healthy tissue. Mercy's unit is configured for image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), SBRT, volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and other advanced techniques.

Salt Lake City – October 05, 2026 -- Nolla Health has become the first company in the country authorized to let an AI system issue initial prescriptions, starting with acne treatment for adults in Utah through its Nolla Derm app for $4.99 a month.

The approval, granted after months of work with the Utah Office of Artificial Intelligence, lets Nolla's AI prescribe acne medication directly to patients 18 and older, bypassing the waitlists and office visits that keep most people from ever seeing a dermatologist.

Nolla targets a gap affecting 100,000 Utah residents

An estimated 100,000 people in Utah live with active acne at any given time, but only 10% ever see a dermatologist, according to the company. The average wait for an appointment in the state is 61 days -- nearly double the national median -- and 11 Utah counties have no dermatologist at all. Visits that do happen can cost up to $300.

Herndon – October 05, 2026 -- Patients who shed significant weight on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic often lose fat from the buttocks and hands faster than anywhere else, leaving too little tissue to harvest for traditional fat grafting. Dr. Amir Mahan Ghaznavi of AMG Plastic Surgery in Herndon, Virginia, is now offering an alternative: alloClae, a donor-derived structural adipose tissue product placed directly into the body without liposuction.

The procedure skips the operating room entirely

Unlike autologous fat grafting, which requires harvesting a patient's own fat through liposuction, alloClae arrives ready for placement. Dr. Ghaznavi injects it in his office under local anesthesia -- no donor site, no general anesthesia. Most patients return to desk work within one to two days.