Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Following the death of two teenage patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy following Elevidys treatment, Sarepta Therapeutics adds a black box warning to the gene therapy for acute liver injury and failure and parts with more than a third of employees.
Around 3,500 FDA employees received termination emails; FDA Commissioner Marty Makary suggests lowering industry user fees and tying review times to drug prices; the regulator opens its trove of complete response letters in the name of transparency; and two companies receive rejections for rare disease therapies.
In its complete response letter, the FDA cited insufficient evidence establish deramiocel’s effectiveness for cardiomyopathy associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The decision comes after CBER Director Vinay Prasad canceled an advisory committee meeting for the therapy.
The FDA found that data from a single Phase II study were “insufficient” to justify an accelerated approval review for sevasemten in Becker muscular dystrophy.
The FDA is assessing the need for “further regulatory action” on Sarepta’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy in the aftermath of two patient deaths, though the regulator has not yet specified what action this could be.
Sarepta’s shares crashed 41% in premarket trading Monday morning to $21.01 after the biotech reported a second death from acute liver failure, a known side effect of adeno-associated virus-based gene therapies.
Avidity has been given the go-ahead by the FDA to request accelerated approval of delpacibart braxlosiran—potentially the first disease-modifying treatment for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy—with an application in the second half of 2026.
After a major shareholder pushed back, Keros is returning half of its capital to investors in a move that Guggenheim analysts called “a positive step forward.”
Interim results from a small group of children in a Phase I/II trial are essentially in line with that of Elevidys, according to BMO Capital Markets analysts.
Since Elevidys’ accelerated approval in 2023, experts have been clamoring for more data, particularly in older and non-ambulatory children. New results, presented Friday, show mobility improvements in 8- to 9-year-old patients after one year of follow-up.
PRESS RELEASES