News

The experimental therapy ATL1102 is safe and continues to show evidence of improved upper muscle strength and function in all nine non-ambulatory boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in a nearly complete Phase 2 trial in Australia, updated data show. Final results from the open-label study, testing ATL1102…

Following its failure to increase dystrophin levels of patients in an early-stage clinical trial, Wave Life Sciences has discontinued development of the investigational exon-skipping therapy suvodirsen for people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Lack of dystrophin, an essential protein for healthy muscles, causes DMD. Patients may…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized use of the first test intended to facilitate newborn screening for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). “Diagnostics that can safely and effectively screen newborns can help health care professionals identify and discuss potential treatment options with parents and caregivers before symptoms…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has conditionally approved Vyondys 53 (golodirsen) to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients amenable to exon 53 skipping. This accelerated approval comes less than four months after the FDA issued a complete response letter rejecting Sarepta Therapeutics’ application for…

GPM Investments, the sixth largest convenience store chain in the U.S., is running its “Tis the Season for Giving” holiday campaign throughout December to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Since 2012, the company’s partnership with the association has generated more than $1.2 million, which has been used…

With so much recent publicity surrounding gene therapy, it’s no surprise that the topic was a major focus of the recent 2019 NORD Rare Diseases & Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit. From diagnosis and clinical trial design to manufacturing, pricing strategies, and ethical concerns, gene therapy — both its high…

Two University at Buffalo (UB) medical school students were so moved by a classroom video presentation by a young man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy that they are working to raise money in his honor and memory. Second-year students at UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences,…

Despite skyrocketing healthcare costs, President Trump is committed to protecting the 30 million or so Americans with rare diseases and ensuring timely, affordable access to lifesaving treatments, the nation’s highest-ranking health official said. “We have to think about how our financing system can protect those with serious and rare illnesses.

Loss of MICU1, a key regulator of calcium balance in cells, was seen to affect muscle function and repair in a study in mice and cells from people lacking this mitochondrial protein. These findings support the involvement of MICU1 in neuromuscular disorders, its researchers said, and its potential as a…

Avidity Biosciences has obtained $100 million to advance its programs for muscle disorder therapies, including a potential Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOC) treatment for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1). Based on a technology pioneered by Avidity, AOCs belong to a new class of lab-made molecules that combine the selectivity…