Genetic Disorder Cluster Muscular Dystrophy Drug Development Pipeline Review 2017 - 108 Products in Development for DMD, by 57 Companies and Nine Academic Institutions - Research and Markets

DUBLIN, May 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Genetic Disorder Cluster Muscular Dystrophy Drug Development Pipeline Review, 2017" report to their offering.

This report provides an overview of the genetic disorders pipeline landscape. The report provides comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development and key players involved in therapeutic development for Becker and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (BMD and DMD) and features dormant and discontinued projects. Both indications covered are inherited muscular dystrophies, a group of genetic, degenerative diseases primarily affecting voluntary muscles.

BMD, the first type of muscular dystrophy, leads to symptoms include pain and sensation, difficulty with running, hopping, and jumping, toe walking, breathing problems, cognitive problems and frequent falls. There are a total of six products in development for this indication, by six seperate companies; the companies operating in this pipeline space are all small pharmaceutical enterprises, and consist of Armgo Pharma, Cardero Therapeutics, Milo Biotechnology, PTC Therapeutics, ReveraGen BioPharma and Sarepta Therapeutics.

DMD is a condition which causes muscle weakness, and is an X-linked disorder. The gene for DMD is present on the X chromosome. It codes for a protein named dystrophin. Dystrophin is essential for providing structural support inside muscle cells. Symptoms usually appear before age 6 and may appear as early as infancy. They include fatigue, learning difficulties, intellectual disability, muscle weakness and progressive difficulty walking.

There is a far larger pipeline for DMD than for BMD; there are a total of 108 products in development for DMD, by 57 companies and nine academic institutions. Key companies operating in this pipeline space include Sarepta Therapeutics, PTC Therapeutics, WAVE Life Sciences, Solid Biosciences, Summit Therapeutics and Catabasis Pharmaceuticals. Of particular importance are Sarepta, who are developing twelve distinct pipeline products for DMD. As with BMD, these are all smaller enterprises, although there is some involvement from larger pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Merck in the DMD pipeline.