AVI BioPharma Announces Eteplirsen Meets Primary Endpoint, Demonstrating a Significant Increase in Dystrophin at 24 Weeks Compared to Placebo in Phase IIb Trial for the Treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

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AVI BioPharma, Inc.
AVII
, a developer of RNA-based therapeutics, today announced that treatment with eteplirsen met the primary efficacy endpoint in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase IIb study in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (
DMD
). Eteplirsen administered once weekly at 30mg/kg over 24 weeks resulted in a statistically significant (p ≤ 0.002) increase in novel dystrophin (22.5% dystrophin-positive fibers as a percentage of normal) compared to no increase in the placebo group. "This study represents a major advance in the field of DMD research as the results indicate that eteplirsen is producing consistent levels of dystrophin, which is the essential protein that these patients need," said Jerry Mendell, M.D., Director of the Centers for Gene Therapy and Muscular Dystrophy at Nationwide Children's Hospital and principal investigator of the Phase IIb study. Dr. Mendell added, "We anticipate that these levels of dystrophin could lead to significant clinical benefit if maintained over a longer course of treatment." In the study, a shorter duration of eteplirsen treatment, 12 weeks, did not show a significant increase in novel dystrophin (0.79% dystrophin-positive fibers as a percentage of normal; p-value NS), despite administration of the drug at a higher dose (50mg/kg once weekly). This finding suggests that a longer duration of dosing is required before meaningful levels of dystrophin are produced. There were no significant improvements in clinical outcomes in the treated groups compared to placebo. Performance on the 6-minute walk test and other outcome measures were generally stable across most of the patients, including the placebo patients, suggesting that a longer period of observation will be required to demonstrate clinical effects of eteplirsen versus a placebo control.
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