Advancing treatments for rare diseases together

DMD

16Mar

The first clinical study of Rimeporide in boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the RIM4DMD study, has been completed. The study examined the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic of Rimeporide, in patients aged 6 to 11 years affected by DMD. Effects on serum and imaging biomarkers were also explored. This RIM4DMD study started in March 2016 in 4 clinical centres in Europe: San Raffaele Hospital (Milano, Italy), Armand Trousseau Hospital/ I-motion (Paris, France), Great Ormond Street Hospital (London, UK) and Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital (Barcelona, Spain). The enrolment of 20 patients was completed in December 2017.

The patients received Rimeporide orally for 4 weeks. 4 dose levels were tested, in 4 ascending cohorts with 5 patients taking the drug at each dose level. The decision to progress to the next higher dose was made after review of safety and tolerability data for the preceding dose by an independent Safety Monitoring Committee (SMC).

Good tolerability was demonstrated in all dose cohorts, confirming the results obtained previously in adult subjects. Detailed analysis of the study results is ongoing.

EspeRare is engaging discussions with key opinion leaders in neuromuscular diseases and cardiomyopathy in order to design a phase II /III study which should start at the end of 2018/early 2019, depending on funding.

EspeRare would like to thank the patients and their family for their participation, all the clinicians and clinical sites’ staff for all the work done, as well as the patients organisations for their scientific and financial support, e.g. AFM-Téléthon, Altrodomani Onlus association in Italy, Duchenne Parent Project Italy and Duchenne Parent Project Spain.

04Oct

The last advances of the Rimeporide clinical study have been presented at the 22nd World Muscle Society congress, in St Malo. Numerous scientists and physicians have shown interest for this project.

Enrollment into this phase IB clinical trial should be complemented by the end of the year. Full results should be available during the first quarter of 2018. EspeRare is initiating discussions with  worldwide clinicians in order to design the phase II study which should start during 2018, depending  on funding.

Poster presented at the World Muscle Society congress

 

26Sep

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US Department of Health and Human Services, has granted an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for Rimeporide for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). See here for more details.

ODD is designed to promote the development of drugs that may provide significant benefit to patients suffering from rare, life-threatening diseases. In particular, this ODD grants Rimeporide a 7-year data exclusivity in the US.

Rimeporide already received ODD in DMD from the European Medicines Agency in 2015. Further to this designation in Europe, EspeRare has been able to conduct a phase Ib clinical trial of Rimeporide on young DMD patients. This clinical trial will be completed by the end of 2017.