Open-Label Evaluation of Eteplirsen in Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Amenable to Exon 51 Skipping: PROMOVI Trial

Background Eteplirsen received accelerated FDA approval for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) with mutations amenable to exon 51 skipping, based on demonstrated dystrophin production. Objective To report results from PROMOVI, a phase 3, multicenter, open-label study evaluating efficacy and safety of eteplirsen in a larger cohort. Methods Ambulatory patients aged 7–16 years, with confirmed mutations amenable to exon 51 skipping, received eteplirsen 30 mg/kg/week intravenously for 96 weeks. An untreated cohort with DMD not amenable to exon 51 skipping was also enrolled. Results 78/79 eteplirsen-treated patients completed 96 weeks of treatment. 15/30 untreated patients completed the study; this cohort was considered an inappropriate control group because of genotype-driven differences in clinical trajectory. At Week 96, eteplirsen-treated patients showed increased exon skipping (18.7-fold) and dystrophin protein (7-fold) versus baseline. Post-hoc comparisons with patients from eteplirsen phase 2 studies (4658-201/202) and mutation-matched external natural history controls confirmed previous results, suggesting clinically notable attenuation of decline on the 6-minute walk test over 96 weeks (PROMOVI: –68.9 m; phase 2 studies: –67.3 m; external controls: –133.8 m) and significant attenuation of percent predicted forced vital capacity annual decline (PROMOVI: –3.3%, phase 2 studies: –2.2%, external controls: –6.0%; p < 0.001). Adverse events were generally mild to moderate and unrelated to eteplirsen. Most frequent treatment-related adverse events were headache and vomiting; none led to treatment discontinuation. Conclusions This large, multicenter study contributes to the growing body of evidence for eteplirsen, confirming a positive treatment effect, favorable safety profile, and slowing of disease progression versus natural history.