The FDA granted accelerated approval to Viltepso (viltolarsen) to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients (DMD) who have a confirmed mutation of the DMD gene amenable to exon 53 skipping, pitting it against Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s Vyondys (golodirsen), which was given accelerated approval last year in a controversial decision by the FDA following an agency complete response letter (CRL) highlighting safety concerns.
Weeks after raising an oversubscribed $60 million series A, Affinia Therapeutics Inc., of Waltham, Mass., is collaborating with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a far larger deal, one potentially worth more than $1.6 billion.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. brought in $4.16 billion in product revenues in 2019, bolstered in large part by the late October approval of Trikafta, earning $420 million in the few weeks that remained in the year.
PERTH, Australia – On the heels of a $1.15 billion deal between Roche Holding AG and Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. for Sarepta’s gene therapy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), another therapy to treat DMD is emerging from Down Under.
In a move that Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s president and CEO, Doug Ingram, called “transformational” for the company and “the largest licensing transaction in cell or gene therapy history,” Sarepta granted Roche Holding AG exclusive commercial rights outside the U.S. for SRP-9001, its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
Perkinelmer Inc., of Waltham, Mass., has won a thumbs up from the U.S. FDA for its GSP Neonatal Creatine Kinase-MM kit. The assay is the first test approved in the U.S. for help in screening newborns for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare but devastating genetic disorder. While there is no known cure for DMD, earlier screening and diagnosis could lead to improvements in quality of life by enabling earlier and more personalized treatment of symptoms. The kit’s approval opens the door for states to include DMD among the battery of tests newborns typically undergo, such as phenylketonuria, cystic fibrosis and congenital heart disease.
In August the FDA was skeptical about Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s injectable Vyondys 53 (golodirsen), but that changed swiftly Friday with the agency’s accelerated approval for the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) follow-on therapy, the first treatment specifically for this subtype.
Solid Biosciences Inc.'s chief technology officer, Joel Schneider, said the company is "not going to leave any stone unturned" as investigators begin to explore the severe adverse event (SAE) that led to the FDA's clinical hold on the phase I/II study with SGT-001 in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
In late June, when Pfizer Inc. unveiled the first phase Ib data, mixed safety signal and all, for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene therapy, PF-06939926, investors in Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. as well as Solid Biosciences Inc. watched with particular interest. The latter firm seems none the worse for wear, though, raising $60 million in a private placement.
