Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s decision this week to snag Bluebird Bio Inc. spinout 2seventy Bio Inc. for $102 million net – just weeks after investors bid $30 million for Bluebird itself – seemed to place a final blow on what was once a promising gene therapy company. The space in general has struggled to make business sense out of the one-time therapies that often involve complicated manufacturing and exorbitant prices, despite the life-changing value that gene therapies bring to patients. But despite some recent setbacks, biopharmas continue to plow forward with promising research in the field.
Mixed opinions from the U.S. FDA’s Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee last month didn’t stop the agency from green-lighting an expanded label for Abecma (idecabtagene vicleucel) to include adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM) after two or more prior lines of therapy including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody.
The BioWorld Cancer Index (BCI) saw its highest point of the year from April through July, when it had a run above 30%, before falling to 23.5% at the end of August. It closed Q3 up 22.96% for the year, a sharp divergence from the more extensive Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average, which are tracking down 6.16% and up 1.09%, respectively.
The death of a patient caused Seattle Children's to pause its phase I study of relapsed/refractory pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It’s another hitch in the world of ground-breaking CAR T treatments that can have a serious downside.
JW Therapeutics Co. Ltd. has formed a partnership with 2seventy Bio Inc. to launch a translational and clinical cell therapy development program for the development of T cell-based immunotherapies in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao.
JW Therapeutics Co. Ltd. has formed a partnership with 2seventy Bio Inc. to launch a translational and clinical cell therapy development program for the development of T cell-based immunotherapies in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao.
