We are delighted to host seven non-CME-accredited industry symposia during WMS 2026. We will be hosting five of the scheduled symposia in the International Conference Center Hiroshima (ICCH) and two in the ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima (a 10-minute walk from the Congress venue). The schedule for these is as follows. All times are in Hiroshima local time (Japan Standard Time).
| Tuesday, 29 September 2026 | ||
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| Himawari Hall (ICCH) | Phoenix Hall (ICCH) | |
| 16:00-17:00 |
WMS industry symposium 1, hosted by NS Pharma/Nippon Shinyaku Evolving Care in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Managing Transition and Multisystem Disease in Non-Ambulatory Patients This industry symposium is designed as an educational and scientific forum that integrates expert clinical perspectives with real world experiences to deepen understanding of the evolving care needs of older, non ambulatory individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The program will feature two independent key opinion leaders—a neuromuscular disease specialist and a cardiologist—who will present complementary, evidence based insights into disease pathophysiology, clinical challenges, and multidisciplinary management across the disease continuum. The neuromuscular specialist will review clinical features unique to older, non ambulatory patients, including the ongoing consequences of dystrophin deficiency and systemic disease progression. The cardiology expert will discuss cardiac involvement in DMD, from early subclinical changes such as myocardial fibrosis to the development of cardiomyopathy, with emphasis on longitudinal monitoring and coordinated care. To complement the expert lectures, the symposium will include a patient journey segment in which an individual living with DMD and/or a family member will share personal experiences related to daily life, disease progression, and transitions in care. While these experiences may include references to treatments encountered during the disease course, the segment is intended solely to provide personal and educational context and does not constitute promotion or endorsement of any specific therapy. By combining independent expert insights with patient and caregiver perspectives, this symposium aims to foster a balanced, patient centered understanding of current clinical considerations, unmet needs, and future directions in the management of DMD. |
WMS industry symposium 2, hosted by BridgeBio Phase 3 FORTIFY Trial: Scientific Update in LGMD2I/R9 Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I/R9 (LGMD2I/R9) is a rare, progressive neuromuscular disorder caused by pathogenic variants of the FKRP gene, resulting in hypoglycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan and impaired sarcolemmal integrity. The condition is characterised by progressive proximal muscle weakness, declining ambulatory function, and cardiorespiratory involvement. This session will provide a scientific overview of LGMD2I/R9, including the current understanding of disease pathophysiology, natural history, and clinical assessment in this rare neuromuscular disorder. The session will then present scientific findings from the Phase 3 FORTIFY trial, a randomised clinical trial evaluating an investigational therapy BBP-418 in patients with LGMD2I/R9. The presentation will cover study design, primary and secondary endpoints, functional measures, and safety and tolerability observations. Discussion will be framed around the scientific interpretation of the data in the context of disease biology and clinical research methodology in rare neuromuscular disorders. |
| Wednesday, 30 September 2026 | ||
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| Himawari Hall (ICCH) | Phoenix Hall (ICCH) | |
| 07:45-08:45 |
WMS industry symposium 3, hosted by Biogen Optimising SMA Treatment: From Clinical Trial Data to Early Clinical Experience With High Dose Nusinersen Japan was the first country to approve high -dose nusinersen, offering a unique early look at its use in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) care. This symposium will present scientific data on high-dose nusinersen from the DEVOTE study alongside real-world clinical experience in Japan. |
WMS industry symposium 4, hosted by Italfarmaco Decoding Duchenne: How Disease Mechanisms Shape Clinical Outcomes Chair: Prof. Laurent Servais (BE) Prof Dr Aartsma-Rus will explore the landscape of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) beyond the gene, identifying emerging therapeutic targets that address the complex molecular pathways involved in the disease. She will explain how these novel targets offer a broader approach to DMD pathophysiology and represent significant potential for advancing the treatment landscape. Dr Laverty will continue the session by discussing the critical importance of measuring what matters, focusing on identifying meaningful clinical outcomes in DMD disease progression. She will finalise the presentation by sharing insights into how these outcome measures can be effectively utilised to better understand disease advancement and provide more practical guidance on patient management. |
| Phoenix Hall (ICCH) | Orchid Higashi (ANA Crowne Plaza) | Orchid Nishi (ANA Crowne Plaza) | |
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| 19:00-20:00 |
WMS industry symposium 5, hosted by Servier Advancing Becker Muscular Dystrophy: Uncovering the Burden of Disease and Showcasing Emerging Clinical Research Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) is a serious rare disease with no currently approved treatment options. In this programme, Katherine Mathews, MD, will present new research on the burden of BMD, improving our understanding of the BMD patient journey and sharing the implications for clinicians. Craig McDonald, MD, will then discuss the latest natural history findings and present an overview of the clinical development of sevasemten, an investigational fast myosin inhibitor currently being studied in BMD. He will also present new and emerging data from MESA, an open-label extension trial investigating sevasemten in BMD. The session will close with a Q&A panel discussion with the audience moderated by Roxana Donisa Dreghici, MD. |
WMS industry symposium 6, hosted by Entrada Therapeutics Next-Generation Exon Skipping for DMD: EEV™ Platform and Early Clinical Data Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by mutations in the DMD gene, which lead to a lack of functional dystrophin, causing progressive loss of muscle function throughout the body. It is estimated that >40% of patients with Duchenne have mutations amenable to exon skipping of exons 44, 45, 50, 51 and 53. Currently approved antisense phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO)–mediated exon-skipping therapies for DMD produce only a very modest amount of dystrophin in skeletal muscle, likely due to poor cell entry and limited endosomal escape in muscle cells. This interactive symposium will provide an overview of the technology behind Entrada Therapeutics’ Endosomal Escape Vehicle (EEV™) Platform of cyclic cell-penetrating peptides and how this technology, designed to enhance PMO delivery to muscles, is being applied to investigational exon-skipping therapies for DMD. In addition, early clinical data from the global, multiple-ascending dose, Phase 1/2b ELEVATE-44 study in participants living with DMD amenable to exon 44 skipping will be reviewed.
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WMS industry symposium 7, hosted by Scholar Rock Going Beyond the Motor Neuron to the Muscle: The Case for Targeting Myostatin in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Increasing evidence suggests that spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) involves not only motor neuron pathology but also involves changes affecting skeletal muscle and the motor unit. |
