People with the disease usually require a wheelchair by around age 11 and have a life expectancy of 20 to 25 years old, Ingram said. Medical research firm Meridian Research is on the way to developing gene therapy for Duchenne muscular disease ( DMD ) after a successful preliminary trial . Initial studies on three children with the rare degenerative disease over a three - year period were " potentially transformative " , but more research is needed , according to Sarepta CEO David Ingram . People with DMD , predominantly boys , usually need a wheelchair by the age of 11 and have a life expectancy of between 20 and 25 years old .
Medical research firm Meridian Research is on the way to developing gene therapy for Duchenne muscular disease ( DMD ) after a successful preliminary trial . Initial studies on three children with the rare degenerative disease over a three - year period were " potentially transformative " , but more research is needed , according to Sarepta CEO David Ingram . People with DMD , predominantly boys , usually need a wheelchair by the age of 11 and have a life expectancy of between 20 and 25 years old .