Osteoarthritis and its associated cartilage pathology affects 30 million people in the U.S., but no disease-modifying treatments have yet reached the clinic. A recent multicenter trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a truncated, recombinant human fibroblast growth factor-18 (FGF18) protein analogue (rhFGF18) demonstrated a dose-dependent improvement in cartilage thickness relative to a placebo.
Abeona Therapeutics Inc. has announced three investigational preclinical gene therapy product candidates from its ophthalmology program. The new AAV-based therapies use novel AAV capsids from Abeona's in-licensed AIM capsid library. Abeona intends to submit its first pre-IND application meeting request this month.
Genascence Corp. has been awarded US$11.6 million over 4 years from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to help advance the company's GNSC-001 gene therapy for knee osteoarthritis (OA). The funding will support a phase Ib trial and manufacturing activities.
Otoferlin is a calcium sensor protein critical for the transmission of the signal from inner hair cells (IHCs) to the spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), and it is encoded by the OTOF gene. Pathogenic biallelic loss of function variations in OTOF result in failure of synaptic transmission, causing autosomal recessive deafness 9 (DFNB9), which is a congenital severe-to-profound auditory neuropathy.
By applying deep learning methods to a large database of zinc finger nucleases, researchers at the University of Toronto and New York University have developed an algorithm, Zfdesign, that was able to design custom zinc fingers for any given stretch of DNA. “I think this system levels the playing field for zinc fingers and CRISPR,” said Philip Kim, co-corresponding author of the team's paper published online in Nature Biotechnology on Jan. 26, 2023.
Herophilus Inc. is conducting in vivo studies of lead candidate HRP-12975, a small-molecule therapy for Rett syndrome, with funding from the Rett Syndrome Research Trust. The company is generating efficacy and safety data with HRP-12975 using genetic mouse models of Rett syndrome.
Decibel Therapeutics Inc. has received clearance of its clinical trial application (CTA) by the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a phase I/II trial of gene therapy DB-OTO in pediatric patients with congenital hearing loss due to an otoferlin deficiency.
Neurogene Inc. has received FDA clearance of its IND application for NGN-401 for the treatment of Rett syndrome. The company plans to initiate a phase I/II trial in female pediatric patients with Rett syndrome this year.
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