Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s balloting March 12 from the U.S. FDA’s Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee (OTAT) in favor of gene transfer therapy SRP-9001 (delandistrogene moxeparvovec) in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) had Wall Street mulling the odds for others in the space.
The debate over Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s gene transfer therapy, SRP-9001 (delandistrogene moxeparvovec), in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) proved as thorny as expected during a closely watched meeting of the U.S. FDA’s Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee. Panelists voted on a single question: “Do the overall considerations of benefit and risk, taking into account the existing uncertainties, support accelerated approval of SRP-9001, using as a surrogate endpoint expression of Sarepta’s microdystrophin at week 12 after administration, for the treatment of ambulatory patients with DMD with a confirmed mutation in the DMD gene?” Balloting turned out 8 yes, 6 no.
How grave they might be remains unknown, but regulatory questions have surfaced in briefing documents related to the soon-to-happen panel meeting on Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s gene transfer therapy delandistrogene moxeparvovec in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The U.S. FDA’s Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee will meet May 12 to discuss the compound, also known as SRP-9001.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. CEO Doug Ingram said the U.S. FDA has promised to schedule “expeditiously” an advisory committee meeting on the BLA related to SRP-9001 (delandistrogene moxeparvovec) for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. said it plans to file a BLA for its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), SRP-9001, with the U.S. FDA, potentially setting up a decision in the first half of 2023 for the therapy developed in partnership with Switzerland’s Roche Holding AG. The Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech said the BLA will seek accelerated approval for the therapy, also known as delandistrogene moxeparvovec, for ambulant individuals with DMD.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. aims to resolve “very quickly” the clinical hold placed by the U.S. FDA on SRP-5051 (vesleteplirsen) for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), said Louise Rodino-Klapac, chief scientific officer.
The U.S. FDA’s accelerated approval path is front burner these days, what with Congress looking to modernize the path through provisions added to the must-pass user fee legislation, the controversy still boiling over the FDA’s accelerated approval last year of Biogen Inc.’s Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm (aducanumab), and a number of recent withdrawals of drugs granted accelerated approval years ago.
The potholes in the U.S. FDA’s accelerated approval path could be paved over by a bill introduced in Congress this week. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the Accelerated Approval Integrity Act March 8 to keep the path open to innovative drugs where there is unmet need while streamlining the process for taking drugs off the market when they don’t prove clinical benefit in a timely manner.
Combining Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s gene editing technology and Genedit Inc.’s Nanogalaxy platform to treat neuromuscular disorders shows promising potential, the companies reported. A year into the research collaboration, Genedit’s polymer nanoparticles have demonstrated the ability to deliver therapeutic cargo to specific muscle tissue following system administration of targeted genetic medicines.
With new therapeutics under FDA review for migraine, Alzheimer’s disease and seizures, and several rare disease gene therapies in development, stocks included in BioWorld’s Neurological Diseases Index are tracking 6.09% ahead for the year.
