Rare diseases
Jefferies analysts made the prediction after Sarepta Therapeutics, which has endured nothing short of a saga with the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy Elevidys, presented data this week showing its clinically meaningful benefit in older patients who are able to walk.
In this episode of Denatured, you’ll hear from Max Bronstein, CEO of Aviva Strategies and Teresa Barnes, Chief Executive Warrior of PF Warriors. We dig into why U.S. patients are losing access to rare disease trials happening abroad and how the FAIR Act’s accelerated, harmonized reviews could help the U.S. keep pace while getting lifesaving studies to patients faster.
Ebvallo, which Pierre Fabre Pharmaceuticals and Atara Biotherapeutics are proposing to treat a posttransplant complication, joins a wave of rejected or discouraged therapies on which the FDA has reversed previous guidance after the exit of former Commissioner Marty Makary.
Summit Therapeutics scores a $2 billion equity investment from AstraZeneca to support ivonescimab’s late-stage development; uniQure crashes after four-year data from its Huntington’s disease gene therapy failed to impress; Kyverna Therapeutics brings new light to a struggling CAR T space in autoimmune disease.
The approval of Mirum Pharmaceuticals’ ALK2 inhibitor for fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva on Friday adds a third option for patients who had long been without any treatments, joining Regeneron’s recently approved Pasatru and Ipsen’s Sohonos.
The recent FDA approval of Fayuvi for a rare, childhood neurodegenerative disease was “particularly special” for Ultragenyx CEO Emil Kakkis. It could also, along with an August nod for another gene therapy, help offset recent challenges brought on by two asset failures.
Ulefnersen, an RNA-targeted therapy being developed by Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Otsuka Pharmaceutical, improved measurements of functional impairment and survival in patients with a rare, genetic ALS subtype in a Phase 3 trial. The partners plan to approach the FDA with the results to determine potential pathways for approval.
Novo plans to hit $23B in revenue by 2035, has further reduced its workforce by 4,000 and is boosting manufacturing capacity for its Wegovy pill, but investors are unconvinced it will be enough to turn things around; Viking Therapeutics and Roche report positive results for their weight loss assets; Ultragenyx snags FDA approval for its Sanfilippo syndrome gene therapy; IPOs keep on coming.
Newly permanent CBER and CDER directors Karim Mikhail and Michael Davis are widely expected to continue the FDA’s efforts toward an adaptive framework for rare disease therapies. If approved by the Senate, will commissioner nominee Heidi Overton stay the course?
The market approval for Fayuvi, which was rejected in 2025 due to manufacturing problems, comes shortly after Ultragenyx got the FDA nod for its first gene therapy last month.
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