Published on January 6, 2010 at 3:17 AM
Amsterdam Molecular
Therapeutics (Euronext: AMT), a leader in the field of human gene therapy,
announced today that it will receive an Innovation Credit of up to EUR 4
million from the Dutch government to support the development of AMT's gene
therapy treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The credit is
granted by SenterNovem, an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic affairs.
"We are delighted to receive this credit for DMD, as these awards are
only made to innovative projects with strong commercial prospects," said Jorn
Aldag, Chief Executive Officer of AMT. "This credit will allow us to
prioritize the development of our gene therapy for this progressive and
devastating disease."
Recently, AMT has reported it has successfully treated DMD in a
preclinical model of the disease with its proprietary gene therapy product
AMT-080. These proof of concept studies demonstrated that AMT's technology
resulted in functional dystrophin synthesis in both the heart and skeletal
muscles, which prevents muscular dystrophy . These data reinforce a previous
study in which this gene therapy approach was shown to successfully restore
dystrophin in diseased human muscle cells obtained from biopsies of DMD
patients. Together, these results establish a robust basis for AMT's
therapeutic approach to DMD.
On October 8, 2009 the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA)
granted Orphan Drug Designation to AMT's gene therapy product AMT-080 for the
treatment of DMD. This entitles AMT to ten years of market exclusivity to
treat DMD in Europe following marketing approval for AMT-080, provided that
this product candidate is the first such approved new drug with a major
medical benefit.
The credit, together with accrued interest, will become repayable in
mid-2013, subject to the commercial success of the project. The credit is
payable in tranches linked to the achievement of specific milestones, and
will fund 35% of the total anticipated costs of the project during this
period.
SOURCE Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics B.V