The Genetics of Hope
Illustration of one person in color standing within a large monochrome crowd.

The Genetics
of Hope

Patients, families, and scientists work against time to defy genetic fate and find a cure.

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About the film

Progress is a human story.

Illustrated poster for The Genetics of Hope: A Race Against Fate, showing branching trees and roots, a DNA helix, clinicians, and wheelchair users above a globe.

Follow the families, patients, and scientists who rallied together to create the first approved treatment for a rare genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). The SMA community is a model community where a collaborative approach to problem-solving yielded a breakthrough in medicine, accelerating the development of treatments that improve the lives of people with genetic diseases.

Access to DNA mapping sparked a revolution that forever changed the arc of medicine. It set in motion the scientific journey of top genetic doctors and researchers, rare disease patients and family advocates rallying to create and implement a breakthrough genetic therapy, Spinraza.

After a lifetime of research, new treatments are healing the human genome in revolutionary ways. Deepening the viewer’s understanding of life and death, The Genetics of Hope explores the complex reality of defying genetic fate and what a cure could mean for the world.

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A film by and for the Rare Disease Community.

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The next chapter

After the
Breakthrough

The Genetics of Hope — Part Two

The first breakthrough changed the course of SMA. The next chapter asks what happens after it.

Part Two returns to the people at the heart of this story as they navigate a new era of treatment, unanswered questions, and possibility. Alongside the film, we are exploring how the knowledge shared across the rare-disease community might remain useful and accessible throughout the year.

We welcome conversations with advocacy organizations, healthcare institutions, foundations, community leaders, aligned media, and responsible industry partners who believe that lived experience belongs at the center of innovation.

Contact

Interested in the film or its next chapter?

We would be glad to hear from potential partners, screening hosts, community members, and others who connect with this work.

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