Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

Blocking the activation of a channel in mitochondria, the cells’ powerhouses, may be a promising way to stop muscular dystrophy (MD) progression in a mouse model of the disease. “We have isolated the primary disease-causing component of muscular dystrophy to the mitochondrial permeability pore,” Jeffery Molkentin, PhD, co-executive director…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted rare pediatric disease status to NS Pharma‘s NS-089/NCNP-02, an investigational exon 44-skipping therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the company announced. The designation is intended to spur treatments for any rare disease (those affecting fewer than 200,000 people in…

The LELANTOS-1 Phase 3 clinical trial, assessing pamrevlumab in combination with corticosteroids in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) who are no longer able to walk, did not reach its main goal. FibroGen, the therapy’s developer, announced the top-line results from the trial, whose main objective was to assess changes in upper…

MP1032, MetrioPharm’s oral therapy candidate for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), has been designated an orphan drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A Phase 2 trial testing MP1032 in DMD patients is expected to start next year. “Currently, DMD cannot be cured, but it can be treated,”…

Dyne Therapeutics’ investigational therapy DYNE-101 has been granted an orphan drug designation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). The designation is meant to support the development of potential therapies for rare, life-threatening, or chronically debilitating diseases. The benefits include reduced fees, clinical…

AOC 1044, an investigational exon 44-skipping therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), has been granted fast track status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The designation is intended to accelerate the therapy’s development and expedite its approval by providing more frequent meetings with the FDA and discussions…

Having reached an agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), NS Pharma will be launching a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate its investigational exon 44 skipping therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Trial details will be forthcoming once enrollment is imminent, according to NS Pharma,…

In a bid to further understand and solve potential gene therapy safety concerns in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) has awarded two research grants totaling nearly $400,000. The funding will allow the awarded researchers and their teams to develop new strategies to prevent immune system…

AOC 1020, Avidity Biosciences’ investigational therapy for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), has been granted orphan drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The designation is intended to encourage the development of therapies for rare diseases, those affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. It provides…

PGN-EDODM1, a therapy candidate for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), showed a favorable safety profile in preclinical studies, including those in non-human primates, PepGen, the company developing the treatment, announced. This work is expected to support a request to initiate a single ascending dose clinical trial of PGN-EDODM1…