Judo Bio Inc. has announced preclinical data demonstrating that its megalin-STRIKER oligonucleotide therapeutics achieved robust and sustained, kidney cell-selective gene silencing in rodents and nonhuman primates (NHPs).

The full rights to Taysha Gene Therapies Inc.’s lead gene therapy candidate are coming back to the company. In 2022, Astellas Pharma Inc. invested $50 million in Taysha for 15% of the company and the exclusive option to license TSHA-102 for treating the rare disease Rett syndrome. That option has expired, according to Taysha.

The U.S. FDA named the first nine recipients of the recently unveiled commissioner’s national priority voucher (CNPV) program aimed at addressing unmet public health needs by shortening regulatory review times to as little as one to two months. For one of those firms, Disc Medicine Inc., which submitted an NDA for bitopertin for rare genetic disorder erythropoietic protoporphyria in September, that could mean a potential approval before the end of 2025.

Some 1 million people around the world suffer severe neurological problems, such as epilepsy, motor impairment and cognitive dysfunction, because they express insufficient SynGAP1, a GTPase-activating protein that operates postsynaptically. Current therapies can mitigate symptoms but not cure the underlying disease. Researchers at the Allen Institute and collaborators have demonstrated a potential genetic cure for SynGAP1 deficiency.

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 1 (CLN1) disease, also known as infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative condition. CLN1 disease is caused by a deficiency in the enzyme palmitoyl-protein thioesterase 1 (PPT1) due to biallelic loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding the lysosomal enzyme, leading to widespread neurological dysfunction and premature death.

While recent advances in gene therapy have offered unprecedented options for patients with hemophilia, new data presented at the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), held in Seville Oct. 7-10, revealed persistent concerns regarding the durability of these treatments and their potential liver toxicity.

Angelman syndrome is a rare genetic, nondegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations affecting the expression of maternal UBE3A, which is expressed in neurons and is a key protein for neuronal morphology and correct synaptic functioning. The disease is characterized by intellectual disability, defects in movement and sleep disruption, among others.

While recent advances in gene therapy have offered unprecedented options for patients with hemophilia, new data presented at the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), held in Seville Oct. 7-10, revealed persistent concerns regarding the durability of these treatments and their potential liver toxicity.

A yearslong bipartisan effort to end the patent-eligibility chaos the U.S. Supreme Court created more than a decade ago could finally come to fruition with the current Congress.