CANbridge Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading China-based global rare disease-focused biopharmaceutical company has entered into a two-year sponsored research agreement with the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, Washington, for gene therapy research in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare neuromuscular disease.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a rare muscle disorder, but it is one of the most frequent genetic conditions that primarily affects males. DMD usually presents in early childhood and is characterized by rapidly progressive muscle degeneration and weakness, leading to loss of ambulation by about 12 years of age. 

The program will be under the direction of Jeffrey Chamberlain, Ph.D., professor in the Departments of Neurology, Medicine and Biochemistry, the McCaw Endowed Chair in Muscular Dystrophy at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

James Xue, Ph.D., Founder, Chairman and CEO, CANbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc. said, "Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common of the hereditary neuromuscular diseases and, despite recent approvals for exon-skipping therapies, remains severely underserved medically. We believe that the best gene therapy for this devastating disease has not yet been discovered, and we look forward to working with Dr. Chamberlain and his team on their innovative research, as well as the new treatments that may arise from it."