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Sarepta Therapeutics Inc shares jump 21% in premarket after DMD drug reports higher than expected sales

Last updated: 16:40 20 Jul 2017 BST, First published: 09:40 20 Jul 2017 BST

A little boy
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is one of the most common, fatal genetic disorders diagnosed in children around the world and it predominantly affects boys.

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NYSE: SRPT) saw its shares gain more 20% in pre-market trade, continuing the rise posted late Wednesday, after the company reported better-than-expected sales of its US$300,000 a year drug for duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Summit Therapeutics (LON:SUMM) signed a licensing deal, worth up to US$522mln, with the US biotech last year that saw the companies collaborate on Summit’s potentially breakthrough treatment for DMD, a muscle wasting disease that affects boys.

Sarepta is a pioneer in the area of DMD with the only disease-modifying treatment out on the market approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

READ: Summit Therapeutics shares shoot up 90% after it inks $522mln Sarepta deal

Second quarter results beat market forecasts

Late Wednesday, Sarpeta unveiled second-quarter revenue of US$35mln, easily beating the average analyst forecast of US$22.5mln.

The biotech’s second quarter sales was equivalent to that it earned in the previous six fiscal years, when it recorded US$36mln in revenue amid a nearly decade-long effort to get FDA approval for eteplirsen, the first approved treatment for DMD.

Sarepta also increased its forecast for full-year revenue, to between US$125mln and US$130mln from its previous guidance of more than US$95mln.

In pre-market trade, Sarepta shares rose 21.12% to US$41.28. Summit Therapeutics was up 4.11% at 190p.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

DMD is one of the most common, fatal genetic disorders diagnosed in children around the world. It predominantly affects boys and it results in the progressive wasting of muscles throughout the body.

The disease has an estimated incidence of 1 in 5,000 and a patient population in the developed world of around 50,000. Patients typically don’t live beyond their late 20s.

It is caused by different genetic faults in the gene that encodes dystrophin, a protein that is essential for the healthy function of all muscles.

Utrophin protein is functionally and structurally similar to dystrophin and in preclinical studies the continued expression of utrophin had a meaningful, positive effect on muscle performance.

Shares added almost 23% in New York to stand at $41.91.

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