Chiesi Group’s idebenone faced a regulatory setback last month after the U.S. FDA issued a complete response letter (CRL) to the company’s NDA for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a rare inherited disorder that causes sudden vision loss.But a chance missed for Chiesi may be an opportunity for gene therapies, including Gensight Biologics SA’s lenadogene nolparvovec (Lumevoq; GS-010).

In a win for the rare disease space, the U.S. FDA granted accelerated approval for Rocket Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Kresladi (marnetegragene autotemcel) as the first gene therapy option for treating severe leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I (LAD-I), an ultrarare genetic immune disorder characterized by an immunodeficiency predisposing those affected to recurrent and fatal infections.

Gene editing holds promise for treating neuromuscular disorders such as limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, but its clinical translation remains challenging due to a lack of complementary delivery tools for the extensive network of skeletal muscles in the human body. A team at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School compared editing outcomes mediated by either Cas9 mRNA and RNP delivery to skeletal muscle via local injection in the context of the previously described selective organ targeting (SORT) lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) platform.