Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Multi-exon Skipping Using Cocktail Antisense Oligonucleotides in the Canine X-linked Muscular Dystrophy

Multi-exon Skipping Using Cocktail Antisense Oligonucleotides in the Canine X-linked Muscular Dystrophy

Published on: May 24, 2016

Efficacy and Safety of Vamorolone Over 48 Weeks in Boys With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A Randomized Controlled

Utkarsh J Dang¹, Jesse M Damsker¹, Michela Guglieri¹

¹From Carleton University (U.J.D.), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; ReveraGen BioPharma (J.M.D., J.N.V.D.A., E.P.H.), Rockville, MD; John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (M.G., V.S.), Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University, United Kingdom; University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (P.R.C.), PA; University of Washington School of Medicine (S.J.P.), Seattle; Duke University School of Medicine (E.C.S.), Durham, NC; Royal Hospital for Children (I.H.), Glasgow, United Kingdom; Nemours Children's Hospital (R.S.F.), Orlando, FL. Dr. Finkel is now with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (J.K.M.), University of Calgary, Canada; Neuromuscular Reference Center (NMRC) (N.D.), UZ Ghent; KU Leuven Department of Development and Regeneration (N.M.G., L.D.W.); Department of Paediatric Neurology (N.M.G., L.D.W.), University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium; Neuromuscular Centre (J.H.), Department of Pediatric Neurology Motol University Hospital; 2nd School of Medicine Charles University in Prague (J.H.), Czech Republic; The Camden Group (L.M.-G., B.D.S.), St. Louis, MO; Children's Hospital of Richmond (A.H.), Richmond, VA; UCLA Medical School (P.B.S.), Los Angeles, CA; UT Southwestern Medical Center (D.C.), Dallas, TX; University of Colorado School of Medicine (M.L.Y.), Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora; The Royal Children's Hospital (M.M.R.); Murdoch Children's Research Institute (M.M.R.), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; University of California, Davis (C.M.M.), Sacramento; Queen Silvia Children's Hospital (M.T.), Gothenburg, Sweden; Kids Neuroscience Centre (R.I.W.), The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Australia; University of Ottawa (H.J.M.), Ontario, Canada; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital (N.K., V.K.R.), Chicago, IL; The Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre (G.B.), National Institute for Health Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health University College, London; Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust (S.S.), Liverpool; Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (A.-M.C.), United Kingdom; Montreal Children's Hospital (A.M.S.), Quebec; BC Children's Hospital Research Institute (K.A.S.), Vancouver, Canada; Nemours Children's Hospital (M.M.), Orlando, FL. Dr. Monduy is now with Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Miami, FL; Schneider Children's Medical Center (Y.N.), Tel Aviv University, Israel; Hospital Quirónsalud Valencia (J.J.V.), Spain; Neuropaediatrics Department (A.N.-O.), Institut de Recerca Pediàtrica Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Neurology (E.H.N.), Leiden University Medical Center; Radboud University Medical Center (I.J.M.D.G.), Nijmegen, the Netherlands; "P&A Kyriakou" Children's Hospital (M.K.), Athens, Greece; Children's National Medical Center (J.N.V.D.A.), Washington, DC; Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute (L.M.W.), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Santhera Pharmaceuticals (M.L.), Prattein, Switzerland; TRiNDS (A.L.D.A.), Pittsburgh, PA; and Binghamton University-State University of New York (E.P.H.), Binghamton.

|February 9, 2024

Abstract

Background And Objectives:

Vamorolone is a dissociative agonist of the glucocorticoid receptor that has shown similar efficacy and reduced safety concerns in comparison with prednisone in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This study was conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of vamorolone over 48 weeks and to study crossover participants (prednisone to vamorolone; placebo to vamorolone).

Methods:

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and prednisone-controlled clinical trial of 2 doses of vamorolone was conducted in participants with DMD, in the ages from 4 years to younger than 7 years at baseline. The interventions were 2 mg/kg/d of vamorolone and 6 mg/kg/d of vamorolone for 48 weeks (period 1: 24 weeks + period 2: 24 weeks) and 0.75 mg/kg/d of prednisone and placebo for the first 24 weeks (before crossover). Efficacy was evaluated through gross motor outcomes and safety through adverse events, growth velocity, body mass index (BMI), and bone turnover biomarkers. This analysis focused on period 2.

Results:

A total of 121 participants with DMD were randomized. Vamorolone at a dose of 6 mg/kg/d showed maintenance of improvement for all motor outcomes to week 48 (e.g., for primary outcome, time to stand from supine [TTSTAND] velocity, week 24 least squares mean [LSM] [SE] 0.052 [0.0130] rises/s vs week 48 LSM [SE] 0.0446 [0.0138]). After 48 weeks, vamorolone at a dose of 2 mg/kg/d showed similar improvements as 6 mg/kg/d for North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) (vamorolone 6 mg/kg/d-vamorolone 2 mg/kg/d LSM [SE] 0.49 [1.14]; 95% CI -1.80 to 2.78, p = 0.67), but less improvement for other motor outcomes. The placebo to vamorolone 6 mg/kg/d group showed rapid improvements after 20 weeks of treatment approaching benefit seen with 48-week 6 mg/kg/d of vamorolone treatment for TTSTAND, time to run/walk 10 m, and NSAA. There was significant improvement in linear growth after crossover in the prednisone to vamorolone 6 mg/kg/d group, and rapid reversal of prednisone-induced decline in bone turnover biomarkers in both crossover groups. There was an increase in BMI after 24 weeks of treatment that then stabilized for both vamorolone groups.

Discussion:

Improvements of motor outcomes seen with 6 mg/kg/d of vamorolone at 24 weeks of treatment were maintained to 48 weeks of treatment. Vamorolone at a dose of 6 mg/kg/d showed better maintenance of effect compared with vamorolone at a dose of 2 mg/kg/d for most (3/5) motor outcomes. Bone morbidities of prednisone (stunting of growth and declines in serum bone biomarkers) were reversed when treatment transitioned to vamorolone.

Trial Registration Information:

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03439670.

Classification Of Evidence:

This study provides Class I evidence that for boys with DMD, the efficacy of vamorolone at a dose of 6 mg/kg/d was maintained over 48 weeks.

More Related Videos

Measurements of Motor Function and Other Clinical Outcome Parameters in Ambulant Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Measurements of Motor Function and Other Clinical Outcome Parameters in Ambulant Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Published on: January 12, 2019

Characterizing Exon Skipping Efficiency in DMD Patient Samples in Clinical Trials of Antisense Oligonucleotides

Characterizing Exon Skipping Efficiency in DMD Patient Samples in Clinical Trials of Antisense Oligonucleotides

Published on: May 7, 2020

Related Concept Videos

Satellite Stem Cells and Muscular Dystrophy

Satellite Stem Cells and Muscular Dystrophy

Satellite stem cells or myosatellite cells are quiescent stem cells that Alexander Mauro first identified in 1961. These cells are located between the sarcolemma, the plasma membrane of muscle fibers, and the basal lamina, the connective tissue sheath covering it. These mononucleated cells are activated in response to muscle injury, can transform into myoblasts, and may form or repair muscle fibers. Myosatellite cells can provide additional myonuclei for muscle regeneration or return to a...

Clinical Trials: Overview

Clinical Trials: Overview

Clinical development focuses on how the drug will interact with the human body and encompasses four key phases of clinical trials, each serving a specific purpose in assessing the safety and effectiveness of new drugs. These phases overlap and build upon one another. Phase I involves a small group of healthy volunteers (typically 20-80 individuals) or, in cases where significant toxicity is expected, patients with the targeted disease, such as cancer or AIDS. The volunteers are tested for...

Directly Acting Muscle Relaxants: Dantrolene and Botulinum Toxin

Directly Acting Muscle Relaxants: Dantrolene and Botulinum Toxin

Directly acting muscle relaxants like dantrolene and botulinum toxin (BoNT) have distinct mechanisms and applications. Dantrolene, a hydantoin derivative, acts on the ryanodine receptor (RYR1) in skeletal muscle cells. RYR1 are calcium channels present at the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane. In response to excitation, they release calcium ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum to the cytosol. Calcium promotes actin-myosin-mediated contraction of muscles.
The binding of dantrolene to the RYR1...

Bioavailability Study Design: Healthy Subjects Versus Patients

Bioavailability Study Design: Healthy Subjects Versus Patients

Bioavailability studies are essential for evaluating a drug's therapeutic efficacy and understanding its absorption patterns under various physiological conditions. Conducting such studies on target patient populations provides more relevant data by simulating real-world disease states. However, practical challenges often necessitate the use of young, healthy adult volunteers as study subjects.Patients may exhibit altered drug absorption patterns due to the effects of the disease itself,...

Bioequivalence studies: Biowaivers

Bioequivalence studies: Biowaivers

In certain scenarios, in vitro dissolution tests can replace in vivo bioequivalence studies. This is particularly true when a drug product, though available in varying strengths, maintains proportional similarity in its active and inactive ingredients. In such cases, the need for in vivo bioequivalence studies for lower strength variants may be waived, provided dissolution tests and in vivo studies on the highest strength yield satisfactory results.Bioequivalence can be indicated through...

Drug Dosing: Obese Patients

Drug Dosing: Obese Patients

In the United States, obesity is a prominent concern. It is linked to heightened mortality rates due to increased occurrences of conditions such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, and diabetes compared to nonobese individuals. A patient is classified as obese if their actual body weight surpasses the ideal or desirable body weight by 20%, based on Metropolitan Life Insurance Company data. Ideal body weights consider average weights and heights for males and females...

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

UK SMA patient registry: a 3-year patient-reported outcome measures study supporting the drug appraisal of Nusinersen and Risdiplam in spinal muscular atrophy.

Journal of the neurological sciences·2026

Total body and appendicular lean mass by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry are highly associated with muscle function and bone mineral density in Becker muscular dystrophy.

Journal of neuromuscular diseases·2026

Balancing Benefits and Risks: Long-term Use of Daily versus Intermittent Corticosteroids in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·2026

Integrating Genetic Modifier Genotype With Serum Proteomics in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Clinical Trials Links LTBP4 Genetic Modifier to IL-23/CD93 Pathways in Muscle.

American journal of medical genetics. Part A·2026

Does Timing Matter? A Clinical Trial of Supporting Play Exploration and Early Development Intervention for Infants Born Preterm in the First Months of Life.

The Journal of pediatrics·2026

Burden of Disease in Pediatric Tumor-Induced Osteomalacia: A Literature Review.

Calcified tissue international·2026

See all related articles