Prosensa B.V., GlaxoSmithKline deal

Prosensa received £10 million ($16 million) in milestone payments from GlaxoSmithKline under an expanded 2009 deal granting GSK rights to develop and commercialize Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) candidates. Prosensa said it added two additional preclinical compounds - PRO052 and PRO055 - to its DMD pipeline, which now comprises six compounds in development to treat DMD. PRO052 is an antisense oligoribonucleotides that skips exon 52 on the dystrophin gene, while PRO055 skips exon 55.

Prosensa also said the European Commission granted Orphan Drug designation to PRO045 and PRO053, which are slated to enter the clinic in the next six months. The compounds skip exons 45 and 53, respectively, on the dystrophin gene. The other compounds in Prosensa's DMD pipeline include PRO051 (drisapersen), which is in Phase III testing for DMD, and PMO044, which is in Phase I/II testing. The compounds skip exons 51 and 44, respectively. ...