Santhera announces publication of long-term idebenone data from SYROS study in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy .

Santhera Pharmaceuticals announces publication of the previously reported SYROS study data in prominent peer-reviewed medical journal Neuromuscular Disorders , demonstrating long-term efficacy with idebenone in slowing respiratory function loss in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) under routine clinical care.

The publication reports data collected as retrospective cohort study (SYROS) from 18 DMD patients not using glucocorticoids who were treated with idebenone (900 mg/day) under Expanded Access Programs (EAPs) after having completed the Phase III DELOS study. The objective was to assess the respiratory function evolution during periods of treatment with idebenone (�On-Idebenone�) compared to periods without idebenone treatment (�Off-Idebenone�) in the same patients. Respiratory function was measured as forced vital capacity (FVC) or peak expiratory flow (PEF), both expressed as percent of predicted (FVC%p, PEF%p).

� This study collected data from DMD patients receiving long-term idebenone treatment under routine clinical care for an average of 4.2 years (range 2.4 to 6.1 years) after completion of the DELOS study. �In the patients who were �Off-Idebenone� before the EAPs, the annual rate of decline in FVC%p (primary endpoint) was reduced by approximately 50% from -7.4% (95% CI: -9.1, -5.8) �Off-Idebenone� to -3.8% (95% CI: -4.8, -2.8) �On-Idebenone�. Similarly, the annual rate of decline in PEF%p was reduced from -5.9% �Off-Idebenone� to -1.9% �On-Idebenone�. � The annual rate of decline in FVC%p and PEF%p remained stable year after year for the entire follow-up time of up to six years and was consistently lower than the decline in matched untreated patients from a natural history study. � During �On-Idebenone�, the rate of bronchopulmonary adverse events was reduced (0.10 events per person-year) compared with �Off-Idebenone� (0.33 events per person-year). Similarly, the rate of hospitalizations due to respiratory infections or related disorders was reduced under idebenone treatment (0.06 hospitalization events per person-year �On-Idebenone� versus 0.15 �Off-Idebenone�).

�Reducing the annual rate of decline in respiratory function during idebenone treatment appears to be clinically relevant as it was associated with a smaller number of bronchopulmonary complications and hospitalization for respiratory events,� said lead author Laurent Servais, MD, PhD, Professor of Neuromuscular Paediatric Diseases at the University of Oxford (MDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Center, department of Paediatrics) and Head of the Neuromuscular Centre (Li�ge, Belgium). �Furthermore, a sustained reduction in the rate of decline in FVC%p indicates a potential therapeutic benefit during long-term treatment as it could result in a delay in the need of assisted ventilation.�

�Data from this long-term follow-up period in patients receiving idebenone under routine clinical care provide a highly valuable data set complementing the previously reported body of evidence, especially the positive Phase III DELOS trial . The totality of available data demonstrate that idebenone preserves respiratory function and holds disease-modifying therapeutic potential,� said principal investigator and corresponding author Gunnar M. Buyse, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Child Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven (Leuven, Belgium).