By now you have probably seen the latest news from our friends at AVI BioPharma, announcing it has initiated dosing in a Phase 2 study of eteplirsen, their lead exon-skipping therapeutic candidate for the treatment of Duchenne. Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy has been a long-time believer in the work being done at AVI and was happy to provide a $50,000 travel grant to help patients participating in this study. If you attended AVI's presentation at this year's Connect Conference in Baltimore or if you listened in on the webinar AVI hosted in early summer, you know that this company, led by CEO Chris Garabedian, is determined to help us end Duchenne.

Though Chris is relatively new to the company, he has been quick to embrace this community and made our sons' health a top priority: "We are excited to announce the initiation of our Phase 2 clinical trial of eteplirsen and appreciate the generous support that PPMD is providing toward patients’ travel costs. We look forward to continuing our evaluation of this promising therapeutic candidate in the longer Phase 2 clinical trial, which will prepare us to initiate a pivotal registration study. Our continued focus at AVI is to develop eteplirsen as quickly and efficiently as possible with the hope of achieving our goal of delivering a safe and effective treatment to patients."

There are many ways to support research to help projects maintain their momentum. If helping to shoulder the burden of travel expenses for patients participating in these trials keeps research moving forward as quickly as possible, we are happy to participate.

It is because of you that we are able to provide grants like this. Whether it is your involvement in our monthly giving program STIR, Coach To Cure MD, Run For Our Sons, hosting a fundraiser, or texting a $5 donation, you have given to this community and have made it possible for us to support critical research like this Phase 2 study.

Stay tuned for more announcements this fall regarding PPMD's commitment to funding the most promising research in the therapeutic pipeline. And as always, thank you for your commitment to this community and your commitment to helping end Duchenne for all of our sons.