Work at Satellos Bioscience Inc. has led to the identification of new AP2-associated protein kinase 1 (AAK1) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of muscular dystrophy.
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2D (LGMD2D/R3) is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the SGCA gene, leading to defective folding and the loss of functional α-sarcoglycan, with progressive muscle degeneration. There is currently no approved treatment targeting the underlying cause of the disease.
Arrakis Therapeutics Inc. has presented data on its RNA-targeted small-molecule (rSM) drug program for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). The company’s proprietary RNA‐specific chemical, biological and structural methods and RNA-directed medicinal chemistry enabled structure-based small-molecule drug design targeting the trinucleotide (CUG) repeat expansion in the mRNA of DMPK (myotonic dystrophy protein kinase) that drives DM1 pathology.
At the Breakthroughs in Muscular Dystrophy special meeting held in Chicago Nov. 19-20, 2024, and organized by the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT), multiple interventions at the RNA level were among the approaches that were presented to fight muscular dystrophies.
Since the isolation of the gene that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), scientists have progressed in understanding the mechanisms that lead to muscular diseases that can be evident from the early stages of childhood. This has led to the development of diagnostics and therapeutics, some approved by the FDA.
The FDA has granted orphan drug designation to Modalis Therapeutics Corp.’s MDL-101, a novel epigenetic editing therapy being developed for the treatment of congenital muscular dystrophy type 1a (LAMA2-CMD), a severe, early-onset muscular dystrophy caused by the absence of the LAMA2 protein.
With a move into Lilly Gateway Labs in Boston’s Seaport District, privately held Tevard Biosciences Inc. is ramping up development of its transfer RNA (tRNA)-based therapies to cure everything from Dravet syndrome and other neurological conditions to cardiology indications and muscular dystrophies.
With a move into Lilly Gateway Labs in Boston’s Seaport District, privately held Tevard Biosciences Inc. is ramping up development of its transfer RNA (tRNA)-based therapies to cure everything from Dravet syndrome and other neurological conditions to cardiology indications and muscular dystrophies.
