Rare diseases

Kygevvi is indicated for patients with thymidine kinase 2 deficiency whose symptoms arise by 12 years of age. The disease manifests as muscle weakness and can become life-threatening in severe instances.
Had Pfizer’s Freda Lewis-Hall not stepped in, SpringWorks’ rare disease treatment may never have reached patients. Pharmas can act now to help find the next Gomekli.
Vinay Prasad, chief of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, is planning to publish a paper this month to outline his office’s thinking on accelerating gene editing reviews.
Already sky high after the success of its limb-girdle muscular dystrophy therapy, reported on Monday, BridgeBio’s shares rose nearly 8% more as encaleret balanced calcium levels in patients with a genetic thyroid disorder.
BioMarin no longer expects to hit its $4 billion revenue target by 2027, citing various market factors such as impending competition for achondroplasia therapy Voxzogo and the divestment of the gene therapy Roctavian.
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.”
Pivotal results from uniQure’s gene therapy for Huntington’s disease have brought new light to patients who have known only disappointment in recent years—but one expert worries that communication of the results is creating “false expectations.”
M&A
The deal, announced early Sunday afternoon, will see Novartis gain access to Avidity’s neuroscience assets, while the San Diego biotech spins out a new company to shepherd its early-stage precision cardiology programs.
Despite showing no meaningful benefit on lung function, Arcturus’ mRNA therapy ARCT-032 reduced mucus volume in patients with cystic fibrosis—an outcome William Blair found “potentially promising.”
FDA
The company’s technology, a modified herpes simplex virus used to deliver gene therapies, was given the FDA’s new designation based on its approved topical skin cream. What this will mean for Krystal’s still-in-development eye drop is unclear.
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