WORK undertaken by researchers at the University of Western Australia has contributed to a dramatic rise in interest in a US drug company.
Shares in the drug company Sarepta Therapeutics surged 200 per cent in one day of trading after it announced positive results involving a UWA development.
Professors Sue Fletcher and Steve Wilton were responsible for developing a compound that prompts production of the protein dystrophin – a deficiency of which affects some sufferers of muscular dystrophy.
The compound has been licensed to Nasdaq-listed Sarepta, which is progressing its development into a marketable drug and testing the effectiveness.
The company recently announced use of the compound had resulted in an improvement in muscular dystrophy sufferers’ ability to walk; patients treated with the drug were able to walk 69 metres further than those on a placebo.
Shares in Sarepta tripled in value on the day the results were announced – starting the day at $US14.99 a share and ending at $US44.93.
The positive result has been described as ‘unprecedented ‘in the search for affective treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and principal investigator of the study Jerry Mendell said the effects were unparalleled in slowing the progression of muscular dystrophy.
“(It) represents a significant milestone and a defining moment of progress and hope for patients and their families, as well as for those of us in the scientific community who have been pursuing potential treatments for this devastating and deadly disease for decades,” Dr Mendell said.
