Once a Wild Idea, Successful First-Generation Exon-Skipping Therapies Pave the Way for Personalized Treatments

In 1996, MDA provided a small starter grant to Dr. Steve Wilton, a primary investigator at the University of Western Australia in Perth, for research into what scientists then thought was a radical process to address the effects of certain gene mutations. A quarter of a century later, this process — exon skipping — has . . .

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FDA Accepts Sarepta Therapeutics’ New Drug Application for DMD Treatment Casimersen

On Aug. 25, Sarepta Therapeutics announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the company’s New Drug Application (NDA) seeking accelerated approval for casimersen (SRP-4045), an investigational therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) amenable to exon 45 skipping. The FDA has granted Sarepta’s application Priority Review Status, meaning that a decision is expected . . .

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FDA Approves NS Pharma’s Viltepso for Treatment of DMD Amenable to Exon 53 Skipping

Today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to viltolarsen (Viltepso) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in patients amenable to skipping exon 53. It is the third exon-skipping, disease-modifying drug to treat DMD, the most common childhood form of muscular dystrophy. The drug is administered by intravenous infusion. Viltepso will . . .

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NS Pharma Announces Positive Results from Phase 2 Study of Viltolarsen in DMD

On May 26, NS Pharma, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese company Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd., announced positive results from its phase 2 clinical trial of the investigational therapy viltolarsen for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) amenable to skipping exon 53. The primary endpoints of the study, assessment of safety and tolerability, were . . .

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Sarepta Therapeutics Announces Positive Interim Results from Study of Casimersen to Treat DMD Amenable to Exon 45 Skipping

On Mar. 28, Sarepta Therapeutics announced encouraging interim results from a phase 3 clinical trial that suggest the experimental drug casimersen potentially may be effective as a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted Sarepta Therapeutics’ New Drug Application (NDA) seeking approval under Priority Review for . . .

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