Source BioProcess International Over 20 cell and gene-based therapies are expected to be filed or to receive approval decisions over the next 18 months, according to the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM). Earlier this year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) laid out its action plan to deal with the large upswing in the
Source: Life Science Leader Headlines about high-priced cell and gene therapies specifically can cause sticker shock for the patient. Exhibit A: Novartis’ Zolgensma, the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) gene therapy treatment, priced at $2.125 million, is the world’s most expensive drug to date. But cell and gene therapies are their own animals; the differences between
Researchers have developed a new variant of the gene editing technique CRISPR-Cas9 that has the potential to increase precision during gene therapy in humans. The new variant reduced unintended changes in DNA compared to its wildtype, suggesting it could play a role in gene therapies that require high precision. The study by researchers from Karolinska
Science is producing a growing number of gene and cell therapies to treat spinal muscular atrophy, leukemia and other conditions, but payers and providers don’t have the information they need to determine what they should pay for these treatments. That’s according to Steven Pearson, MD, founder and president of Boston-based Institute for Clinical and Economic
The controversy over Novartis’ ultra-pricey gene therapy Zolgensma has intensified after it allegedly refused to supply the one-off therapy to a sick toddler in Belgium on compassionate grounds. According to The Brussels Times, the family of the toddler named Pia, who suffers from the ultra-rare disease spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have been running a crowdfunding campaign
Source https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12281-8#Sec14 Highly specific Cas9 nucleases derived from SpCas9 are valuable tools for genome editing, but their wide applications are hampered by a lack of knowledge governing guide RNA (gRNA) activity. Here, we perform a genome-scale screen to measure gRNA activity for two highly specific SpCas9 variants (eSpCas9(1.1) and SpCas9-HF1) and wild-type SpCas9 (WT-SpCas9) in
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine scientists have fine-tuned their delivery system to deliver a DNA editing tool to alter DNA sequences and modify gene function. The improved “hit and run” system works faster and is more efficient. “With this new method we are able to package together in one lentiviral capsid both essential components
At the Association for Glycogen Storage Disease’s 41st Annual Conference, Dr. David Weinstein of UConn School of Medicine and Connecticut Children’s presented his groundbreaking, one-year clinical trial results for the novel gene therapy treatment for glycogen storage disease (GSD). The rare and deadly genetic liver disorder, GSD type Ia, affects children from infancy through adulthood, causing dangerously
Long-Term Follow-up Data Show That the 88% of Patients Treated in the Starbeam Study (ALD-102) Were Free of Major Functional Disabilities (MFDs) at Two Years, and Continued to Remain MFD-Free at up to Five Years of Follow-up bluebird bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLUE) today announced updated results from the clinical development program for its investigational Lenti-D™ gene
New interim data from SPR1NT study supports critical importance of early intervention in pre-symptomatic SMA patients, leading to age‑appropriate major milestone gain Updated results from global STR1VE study demonstrate that Zolgensma® (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi) has significant therapeutic benefit in prolonging event-free survival in SMA Type 1 patients versus natural history Patients in START long-term follow-up study (cohort 2), who
