Wave Life Sciences Announces Positive Data from FORWARD-53 Clinical Trial in DMD Including Significant Functional Benefit and Reversal of Muscle Damage after 48 Weeks of Dosing with WVE-N531

Core Insights - Wave Life Sciences announced positive results from the Phase 2 FORWARD-53 trial of WVE-N531, demonstrating significant improvements in muscle health and function in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) [1][4][10] Group 1: Trial Results - The FORWARD-53 trial achieved all goals, showing a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement of 3.8 seconds in Time-to-Rise (TTR) compared to natural history, the largest effect observed relative to any approved dystrophin restoration therapy at 48 weeks [1][3][12] - A 28.6% reduction in muscle fibrosis was observed between weeks 24 and 48 (p<0.01), alongside a 50% decrease in serum creatine kinase (CK) levels (p<0.001) [3][12] - Dystrophin expression stabilized between 24 and 48 weeks, averaging 7.8%, with 88% of boys achieving over 5% average dystrophin [1][8] Group 2: Safety and Tolerability - WVE-N531 was reported to be safe and well-tolerated, with no serious adverse events and all treatment-related adverse events being mild to moderate [1][8] - The trial included 11 boys, all of whom advanced to the extension portion of the study receiving monthly doses of WVE-N531 [7][8] Group 3: Regulatory and Future Plans - Following feedback from the FDA, Wave plans to file a New Drug Application (NDA) in 2026 for accelerated approval of WVE-N531, supported by data for monthly dosing [1][5][6] - Wave expects to submit multiple clinical trial applications (CTAs) for other DMD candidates targeting different exons in 2026, aiming to establish a best-in-class exon skipping franchise [1][6][10] Group 4: Market Opportunity - WVE-N531 and other exon skipping programs could address approximately 40% of the DMD population, representing a market opportunity exceeding $2.4 billion in the United States alone [6][10]