Each year, the World Muscle Society (WMS) Annual Congress brings together the best minds in neuromuscular research, clinical care, patient advocacy, and industry. The meeting offers a dynamic platform for sharing new data, fostering collaborations, and advancing the science behind therapies for diseases like Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy. This year’s event in Vienna, Austria, features talks focusing on neuromuscular diseases as multisystemic disorders, multidisciplinary disease management, and advances in therapies and drug development.
Below are highlights from the 2025 meeting, updated daily with information from members of PPMD’s team attending the meeting in Vienna:
The Spirit of Collaboration at WMS
Reflections from PPMD’s Founding President Pat Furlong
Thirty years ago, Professor Victor Dubowitz helped bring to life the first World Muscle Society (WMS) meeting. His vision was simple yet transformative: to unite researchers and clinicians — “mouse doctors” and “people doctors” — so they could learn from one another, share discoveries, and work together for the benefit of patients. Dr. Dubowitz was more than a brilliant physician and scientist; he was a tireless advocate for individuals and families living with neuromuscular disorders. An early adopter of steroid therapy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, his team explored intermittent dosing schedules — including the common “10 days on, 10 days off” schedule — to balance benefit while reducing side effects. These studies reflected his lifelong commitment to thoughtful, patient-centered care and his constant pursuit of safer, more effective treatments.
At his core, Dr. Dubowitz was a pioneer who believed that progress in the lab meant little unless it improved life at the bedside. He built bridges between disciplines, convinced that collaboration and shared learning were essential to move the field forward. The WMS meeting was born from that conviction — and remains a living legacy of his passion, curiosity, and compassion. We at PPMD have had the honor of hosting Dr. Dubowitz as a speaker at our Annual Conferences, underscoring his lifelong commitment to engaging directly with patients, families, and advocates. As Duchenne research has advanced and new partners from biopharma, academia, and advocacy have joined the mission, WMS has continued to grow inclusively — a reflection of Dr. Dubowitz’s belief that real progress depends on collaboration, and that patients and families must remain at the heart of this work.
Today, PPMD continues to attend WMS in that same spirit: to learn, to share, and to collaborate. Bringing the patient advocacy voice into scientific and clinical conversations — and especially into a space like WMS — changes everything. It reminds every person in the room why this work matters: that behind every data point is an individual, a parent, a family hoping for more time, more strength, more life. Advocates bring urgency, context, and perspective that science alone cannot supply. We help ensure that the research being pursued reflects what truly matters to families — meaningful outcomes, improved quality of life, and access to care.
When advocacy is part of the discussion, priorities shift from theoretical success to practical, human impact. These conversations influence how clinical trials are designed, how regulators and investors think about therapies, and how care evolves in real time for families around the world. They remind the scientific community that communication and compassion are not secondary to discovery — they are essential to it. When advocates and experts sit at the same table — because it is our table, after all — science moves faster, care improves, and families feel seen and heard. That is the true value of patient advocacy: bringing the patient voice into the heart of medicine, and carrying forward Dr. Dubowitz’s enduring belief that by working together, we can — and will — end Duchenne.
Stay tuned for more updates from WMS 2025.
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