4D Molecular Therapeutics Inc.’s gene therapy, 4D-150, in wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) produced positive phase IIb data as the company preps two phase III studies set to begin this year.
Arbor Biotechnologies Inc.’s ABO-101 has been awarded orphan drug and rare pediatric disease designations by the FDA for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1).
Entos Pharmaceuticals Inc. has been awarded a $4 million grant by California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to support the completion of IND-enabling activities with ENTLEP-001, a durable genetic medicine for the treatment of congenital generalized lipodystrophy.
Navega Therapeutics Inc. has received a $4 million Translational Science grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to support its work addressing neuropathic pain. The grant will fund the final preclinical development studies of NT-Z001 leading to an IND submission.
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded a $5.8 million translational research grant to a scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to further support the development of a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy to treat Angelman syndrome, including preparation of a pre-IND package submission to the FDA.
Stargardt disease, the most common form of juvenile macular degeneration, results from biallelic mutations in the ABCA4 gene. In a recently published study, researchers at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel and collaborators proposed a novel dual AAV vector system to deliver a split-intein adenine base editor for precise correction of the most common Stargardt mutation, c.5882G>A (p.Gly1961Glu).
Tikun Therapeutics Inc. has obtained U.S. orphan drug and rare pediatric disease designations for its programs in familial dysautonomia, namely its rAAV2-U1a-hELP1 gene replacement therapy for the treatment of optic neuropathy in familial dysautonomia and BPN-36964 for systemic treatment of familial dysautonomia.
A 6.5-month-old boy with the rare inherited urea cycle disorder ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency has responded positively in a targeted in vivo gene editing trial, in which a correct copy of a defective gene was inserted at a precise locus in the genome.
Yoltech Therapeutics Co. Ltd. has advanced YOLT-204 into the clinic for the treatment of transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT). If successful, YOLT-204 may provide an off-the-shelf curative treatment for TDT patients without conditioning chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
The accelerating pace of U.S. FDA approvals for cell and gene therapies is “great for the field and great news for the patients,” but questions remain over commercialization, with “costs remaining stubbornly high.” That was the glass half-full summary of Tim Hunt, president of the industry group, the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, reprising progress in 2024, and looking forward to the prospects for further growth and the potential impact of the incoming Trump administration in 2025.
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