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The gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 was used to correct defects in the DMD  gene and restore dystrophin protein production,  lengthening the lives of pigs in a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and altering heart cells from a patient to make them less prone to irregular beats, researchers report. The scientists…

Longtime Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) supporter CN Brown Company, a CITGO Petroleum Corporation (CITGO) marketer, raised more than $300,000 for the MDA’s Maine chapter in 2019. “Our family’s commitment to helping win the fight for families affected by MDA has remained strong for generations,” Jeff Jones, CN…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to losmapimod, an investigational oral therapy for people with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). This designation offers Fulcrum Therapeutics financial support to develop this treatment, as well as a waiver from the FDA’s fees and…

Kevin Schaefer hadn’t been in an airport since he was 4 years old, so he had been looking forward to flying from his home in Cary, North Carolina, to Anaheim, California, in June for the 2019 Cure SMA Conference. As it turned out, his experience didn’t go as expected.

Altering connexin 43 (Cx43) — a protein involved in heart function — in cardiac muscle cells protected against heart disease in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a study found. These results suggest targeting Cx43 may prevent heart disease in people with DMD. The study, “…

GeneDx has chosen Bionano Genomics’ technology, called Saphyr System, to aid in developing tests to detect mutations in genes that are associated with different forms of muscular dystrophy and other disorders. Saphyr is a whole-genome imaging technology that uses advanced optics combined with mathematical…

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) will use PerkinElmer‘s recently federally authorized test to aid newborn screening for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in a newly launched pilot program in New York state. Results from the two-year Newborn Screening Pilot for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, launched in collaboration with consortia…

Note: This story was updated Dec. 17, 2020, to note that preclinical studies testing this form of gene therapy were conducted in animals that naturally develop DMD, not genetically engineered animals. Genethon and Sarepta Therapeutics have extended their original agreement to develop GNT0004, a potential …

AMO Pharma has begun enrollment for a Phase 2/3 trial that will assess the experimental oral therapy AMO-02 (tideglusib) in children and adolescents with congenital myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). The randomized, double-blind trial (NCT03692312) is intended to support regulatory approval of AMO-02 for congenital…

Rich Horgan’s younger brother, Terry Horgan, is the inspiration behind Cure Rare Disease, a Boston-based nonprofit Rich established in 2017 to help scientists develop personalized therapies for people with rare diseases. Terry, 24, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is the organization’s first focus. Besides Terry, three other…