CSL Behring’s expensive hemophilia B gene therapy is to be reimbursed by the U.K. National Health Service, after the company agreed to an outcomes-based payment scheme. The therapy, Hemgenix (etranacogene dezaparvovec), which has a U.K. list price of £2.6 million (US$3.3 million), was approved under a managed access scheme, in which data will be collected over five years to enable both the long-term effectiveness, and any adverse liver toxicity caused by the transgene, to be monitored.
Two days before the PDUFA date, the U.S. FDA handed down a complete response letter (CRL) for Rocket Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Kresladi (marnetegragene autotemcel), delaying potential approval of the lentiviral-based gene therapy as the first therapeutic option for leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I, a rare, inherited immune disorder. But the Cranbury, N.J.-based company has suggested that delay won’t be long, as the CRL requests only “limited” chemistry manufacturing and controls (CMC) information – additional CMC data were also cited as the reason for the three-month review extension earlier this year.
Exsilio Therapeutics emerged from stealth mode on June 25, 2024, with $82 million from a series A financing that was co-led by Novartis Venture Fund and Delos Capital. The company plans to use naturally occurring, mobile genetic elements to integrate therapeutic genes at a defined location in the genome, making it safer than random integration, which can cause tumor formation.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. CEO Douglas Ingram said he expects “ferocious” demand for gene therapy Elevidys (delandistrogene moxeparvovec), granted full approval by the U.S. FDA for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Shares of the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm closed June 21 at $16.72, up $37.22, or about 30% on the news.
The good news for Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. is bad news for Pfizer Inc. as the phase III study of its mini-dystrophin gene therapy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) has missed its primary endpoint. Now Sarepta’s Elevidys (delandistrogene moxeparvovec), a single-dose, adeno-associated virus-based gene transfer therapy for DMD, is barreling toward a June 21 PDUFA date with the U.S. FDA as the near competition shrinks in the rearview mirror.
The EMA has been sent back to the drawing board to re-evaluate PTC Therapeutics Inc.’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy Translarna (ataluren), after failing to get the usual rubber stamp following its recommendation in January that the drug’s conditional approval be withdrawn.
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. anticipates a meeting later this year with the U.S. FDA to discuss a BLA filing for gene therapy DTX-401 as the first potential medical treatment for glycogen storage disease type 1a (GSD1a) after the phase III study hit its primary endpoint and two key secondary endpoints.
A boy participating in the phase II Daylight study of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) “has passed away suddenly,” according to Pfizer Inc. The participant had received fordadistrogene movaparvovec, a mini-dystrophin gene therapy, in early 2023. The fatal serious adverse event was reported May 3 as a cardiac arrest, Pfizer told BioWorld. Pfizer, together with the independent external data monitoring committee, is reviewing the data to understand the potential cause, the company added.
Philadelphia-based Latus Bio Inc., co-founded by serial biotech entrepreneurs P. Peter Ghoroghchian and Beverly Davidson, launched on May 2 with two lead adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy candidates and $54 million in a series A financing.
Ending a late 2021 deal that was potentially worth billions, Moderna Inc. and Metagenomi Inc. are going their separate ways. The two had been collaborating on gene-editing R&D to develop therapies for treating serious genetic diseases. Moderna said it agreed with Metagenomi to end the deal as “Moderna continues to strategically prioritize its research and development investments.”
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