An ongoing concern for scientists is that there will be across-the-board funding cuts. This is already happening in mRNA research, where reductions affected coronavirus-related projects. During the pandemic, efforts focused on this pathogen, and once the health emergency was over, grants for antivirals were eliminated. However, these drugs could stem future outbreaks. Despite the cuts, recent research continues to demonstrate the potential of mRNA, not only for the development of antivirals, but also for obtaining more effective and longer-lasting vaccines.
Two months after starting the phase I/II Synrgy trial with its gene therapy, CAP-002, enrolling 12 pediatric patients with rare disease STXBP1 encephalopathy, Capsida Biotherapeutics paused the study following the death of the trial’s first patient.
Researchers from the University of California, Davis have designed a novel gene therapy vector that selectively targets and kills cells infected with Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV).
Researchers at Sanofi SA have developed a promising gene therapy approach targeting the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Remedium Bio Inc. has entered into a multitarget research and development collaboration with Eli Lilly & Co. to advance gene therapies for type 2 diabetes and obesity using Remedium’s Prometheus dose-adjustable gene therapy platform.
Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a rare, progressive genetic disease that causes severe muscle weakness and other debilitating symptoms, such as compromised respiration and cardiac conduction abnormalities. No disease-modifying therapy exists for DM1, so care focuses on managing symptoms like arrhythmia, myotonia, hypertension, cataracts, respiratory issues and sleep disorders.
Axovia Therapeutics Inc. has been awarded a new $1.0 million grant by the nonprofit organization A Race Against Blindness to support the clinical development of AXV-101, an investigational gene therapy aimed at combating childhood blindness due to retinitis pigmentosa caused by Bardet-Biedl syndrome 1 (BBS1).
Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy is considered a promising strategy to treat hearing loss. However, its clinical application is limited by the genetic heterogeneity of hereditary hearing loss, requiring gene-specific analysis and approach optimization for broader treatment applications.
Editas Medicine Inc. has nominated a lead in vivo development candidate, EDIT-401, a potential one-time therapy designed to significantly reduce LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. The in vivo gene editing medicine is designed to treat hyperlipidemia by directly editing the LDLR gene to increase LDLR protein expression and reduce LDL-C levels.
With a few tweaks to the protocol, Rocket Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s phase II trial testing RP-A501 in Danon disease is expected to resume following the lifting of the clinical hold, issued by the U.S. FDA in May in response to the death of a patient in the pivotal gene therapy study.
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