Abstract
Nonsense mutations are implicated in 5–70 % of individual cases of most inherited diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and cystic fibrosis. Ataluren (Translarna™) is an orally available, small molecule compound that targets nonsense mutations, and is the first drug in its class. Ataluren appears to allow cellular machinery to read through premature stop codons in mRNA, enabling the translation process to produce full-length, functional proteins. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of ataluren leading to its conditional first approval for nonsense mutation DMD.
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Disclosure
The preparation of this report was not supported by any external funding. During the peer review process the manufacturer of the agent under review was offered an opportunity to comment on the article. Changes resulting from any comments received were made by the authors on the basis of scientific completeness and accuracy. N. J. Ryan is a contracted employee of Adis, Springer SBM.
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This profile has been extracted and modified from the Adis R&D Insight drug pipeline database. Adis R&D Insight tracks drug development worldwide through the entire development process, from discovery, through pre-clinical and clinical studies to market launch.
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Ryan, N.J. Ataluren: First Global Approval. Drugs 74, 1709–1714 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-014-0287-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-014-0287-4