22 Mar FDA Nod in Duchenne Helps Wider Swath of Patients With the Rare Muscle Disease

By Frank Vinluan, MedCity News

Duchenne muscular dystrophy has several approved drugs, including a gene therapy that provides children who have the rare, inherited muscle-wasting disease the option of a one-time treatment. But each of these therapies only treats certain defined patient groups. While corticosteroids can reach more Duchenne patients, they introduce many side effects. The FDA just approved the first nonsteroidal Duchenne drug.

The late Thursday approval of Italfarmaco drug givinostat covers patients age 6 and older and spans all genetic variants that drive the inherited disease. The twice-daily oral suspension will be marketed under the brand name Duvyzat. In an email, Italfarmaco said Duvyzat’s price has not yet been set. The Milan, Italy-based company expects the product will become available in the third quarter of this year. Read more…