AMT receives Innovation Credit to develop gene therapy treatment for DMD

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (Euronext: AMT), a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today that it will receive an Innovation Credit of up to EUR 4 million from the Dutch government to support the development of AMT's gene therapy treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The credit is granted by SenterNovem, an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic affairs.

"We are delighted to receive this credit for DMD, as these awards are only made to innovative projects with strong commercial prospects," said Jorn Aldag, Chief Executive Officer of AMT. "This credit will allow us to prioritize the development of our gene therapy for this progressive and devastating disease."

Recently, AMT has reported it has successfully treated DMD in a preclinical model of the disease with its proprietary gene therapy product AMT-080. These proof of concept studies demonstrated that AMT's technology resulted in functional dystrophin synthesis in both the heart and skeletal muscles, which prevents muscular dystrophy . These data reinforce a previous study in which this gene therapy approach was shown to successfully restore dystrophin in diseased human muscle cells obtained from biopsies of DMD patients. Together, these results establish a robust basis for AMT's therapeutic approach to DMD.

On October 8, 2009 the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) granted Orphan Drug Designation to AMT's gene therapy product AMT-080 for the treatment of DMD. This entitles AMT to ten years of market exclusivity to treat DMD in Europe following marketing approval for AMT-080, provided that this product candidate is the first such approved new drug with a major medical benefit.

The credit, together with accrued interest, will become repayable in mid-2013, subject to the commercial success of the project. The credit is payable in tranches linked to the achievement of specific milestones, and will fund 35% of the total anticipated costs of the project during this period.