Gene therapy
The clinical hold comes days after Intellia voluntarily paused enrollment and dosing in the same two studies.
As third-quarter earnings continue to roll out, Novartis makes headlines with the second biggest acquisition of the year; Novartis’ CEO also downplayed the impact of Big Pharma pricing deals with the Trump administration; Regeneron continued the trend of dropping cell therapy assets; BioSpace takes a look at how the FDA is functioning mid-shutdown.
Intellia earlier this year reported a similar grade 4 liver enzyme elevation associated with the gene therapy nexiguran ziclumeran, though analysts at BMO Capital Markets at the time brushed it off as a “non-concern.”
The takeover of its competitor, announced Sunday, could also bring some attention to Dyne Therapeutics, which has a similar RNA-based pipeline in rare muscle diseases.
The cornerstone of the deal is Ixo-vec, an intravitreal gene therapy currently in Phase III development for wet age-related macular degeneration. Eli Lilly made another foray into genetic medicine in June, picking up Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 billion.
Novo Nordisk’s leadership gets another shake-up as President Trump promises to significantly slash prices for its GLP-1 drugs; Summit/Akeso, Exelixis and more present new data at ESMO 2025; Replimune pops as FDA accepts resubmitted BLA; FDA names first winners of Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program; and more.
Despite announcing a broad pivot to siRNA earlier this year, Sarepta is following through with an investigational gene therapy: its limb-girdle muscular dystrophy candidate. But the treatment’s path forward, analysts say, is highly uncertain.
After the FDA revoked Sarepta Therapeutics’ platform designation in July, Krystal Biotech is “poised to be the first major beneficiary” of this program, according to analysts at William Blair.
Johnson & Johnson has yet to make a drug pricing deal with Trump; Novo makes more moves under new CEO; more than 1,000 laid off from CDC, though many immediately hired back; the BIOSECURE Act is back and more.
Regeneron is aiming to file a regulatory application for DB-OTO by the end of the year.
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