Blackfinbio Ltd. has obtained IND clearance from the FDA for its novel AAV gene therapy, BFB-101, for hereditary spastic paraplegia type 47 (SPG47), which is caused by changes in the AP4B1 gene. A phase I/II trial will be conducted in the U.S. at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Dravet syndrome (DS) is a rare and severe form of epilepsy that causes intellectual disability and motor deficits and can lead to premature death. A loss-of-function mutation in one copy of SCN1A, encoding the voltage-gated sodium channel (NaV)1.1 α subunit, is the most frequent alteration found in DS patients and has been linked with inhibitory neuron dysfunction. Despite the potential of gene therapies, AAV-mediated SCN1A gene replacement for DS has not been possible yet due to AAV genome size constraints.
Positive early stage data for Verve Therapeutics Inc.’s base editing therapy points to a range of development options, including bringing partner Eli Lilly and Co. in a little closer. The new data helped ease the company’s pain from the April 2 enrollment pause of a similarly designed therapy from Verve. Verve’s Heart-2 phase Ib of VERVE-102 in treating 14 patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and/or premature coronary artery disease showed one infusion led to dose-dependent decreases in blood PCSK9 protein levels and low density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Despite being known for more than 150 years, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) remains an untreatable disease affecting approximately 1 of every 3,500-5,000 males. Muscles in patients express no or inactive dystrophin, rendering them weak and less mobile.
Genflow Biosciences plc has announced a development program in ophthalmology focused on advancing a novel gene therapy leveraging its proprietary centenarian SIRT6 (cSIRT6).
Researchers from Voyager Therapeutics Inc. presented preclinical activity data of VY-1706, a blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrant gene therapy comprising an adeno-associated virus serotype 9 capsid (AAV9-C9P39) vector encoding primary artificial microRNA (pri-amiRNA) consisting of short-interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting human microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) protein.
Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease originating from biallelic pathogenic variants in the ARSA gene, mainly affecting young children.
Lexeo Therapeutics Inc. produced more positive interim data from early stage studies of its gene therapy to treat Friedreich’s ataxia cardiomyopathy. The results have prompted the company to continue their ongoing dialogue with U.S. FDA regulators to finalize a registrational study protocol and launch that study by early 2026 with data the following year.
Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. is adding a much-needed $18 million up-front payment in a neurology-focused deal with Eli Lilly and Co. that could bring up to an additional $1.4 billion. In return, Lilly gets access to Sangamo’s neurotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, STAC-BBB, which has shown early promise in penetrating the blood-brain barrier penetration, for one initial target with the right to add up to four more.
Spark Therapeutics Inc. has presented a proprietary adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector expressing an artificial miRNA targeting human α-synuclein (α-Syn) mRNA. Accumulation of misfolded and insoluble α-Syn causes neuronal toxicity in preclinical models and has been identified as the underlying cause of synucleinopathies.
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