Adeno-associated virus, a common gene therapy vector. Source: http://bit.ly/1NR7tf4
On November 6, 2015, Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) announced the publication of a new book-length report, Gene Therapy: Moving Toward Commercialization, by Allan B. Haberman, Ph.D.
As demonstrated by several late-breaking news items that appeared as our report was in the process of publication, gene therapy is a “hot”, fast-moving field. For example:
On October 5, 2015, Spark Therapeutics (Philadelphia, PA) announced positive top-line results from the Phase 3 pivotal trial of SPK-RPE65, a gene therapy for treatment of inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) caused by mutations in the gene for RPE65. This trial met its primary endpoint, and there were no serious adverse events related to treatment with the therapy. In results presented at a scientific meeting later in October, SPK-RPE65 was found to give durable improvements in vision over a three-year period.
SPK-RPE65 is not only Spark’s most advanced gene therapy in development, but is the most advanced gene therapy for retinal disease of any company. It is covered in our report.
bluebird’s LentiGlobin BB305—including the company’s strategy for commercializing this product—is also discussed in our report. In bluebird’s November 5, 2015 presentation at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, it was revealed that in Phase 1/2 clinical trials, LentiGlobin BB305 rendered the few sickle-cell disease patients in the trials transfusion-free and hospitalization-free for at least six months. Among patients with severe beta-thalassemia, all except for those with the β0/β0 genotype were rendered transfusion-free for at least 90 days, with a median of 287 days transfusion-free. Two of the β0/β0 patients (who made no hemoglobin at baseline) received a single transfusion post-discharge, and the third β0/β0 patient remains transfusion-dependent.
The stock market had focused on the negative results with the β0/β0 patients, and thus bluebird stock lost over 20% of its value after the ASH abstracts were released. However, the β0/β0 patients represent only one-third of the beta-thalassemia market, and sickle-cell disease is a larger market than beta-thalassemia. Thus, provided further clinical trials are positive, LentiGlobin BB305 can still be a successful product. bluebird is increasing the number of patients who will be enrolled in the trial from eight to 20, so more data should be forthcoming in 2016.
In corporate gene therapy news, Spark Therapeutics recently opened a new satellite office in the Boston area, joining Boston-area gene therapy companies bluebird bio, Dimension Therapeutics, and Voyager Therapeutics. All are discussed in our report. Spark and bluebird are public companies, and Dimension and Voyager recently went public. In addition, uniQure, the company that developed the first approved gene therapy product, opened a Lexington MA office and manufacturing facility in 2013. Boston has thus become Gene Therapy Central. As discussed in our report, Boston is also the most important center for companies that focus on gene editing, based on CRISPR/Cas9 technology.
These and other recent news articles and scientific publications attest to the progress of gene therapy, which only a few years ago was considered to be a “premature technology”.
Our gene therapy report looks at how researchers have been working to overcome critical barriers to development of safe and efficacious gene therapy, from 1990 to 2015. It then focuses on clinical-stage gene therapy programs that are aimed at commercialization, and the companies that are carrying out these programs. A major theme of the report is whether gene therapy can attain near-term commercial success, and what hurdles still need to be overcome.
Topics covered in the report:
- Development of improved vectors (integrating and non-integrating vectors)
- Gene therapy for ophthalmological diseases
- Gene therapy for hemophilias and other rare diseases
- Gene therapy for more common diseases (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, osteoarthritis, and heart failure)
- Companies whose central technology platform involves ex vivo gene therapy
- Gene editing technology
- Outlook for gene therapy
- Outlook for eight gene therapy products expected to reach the market before 2020
The report also includes:
- An exclusive interview with Sam Wadsworth, Ph.D., the Chief Scientific Officer of Dimension Therapeutics and former Head of Gene Therapy R&D at Genzyme
- The results and an analysis of a survey of individuals working in gene therapy, conducted by Insight Pharma Reports in conjunction with this report.
- Companies profiled: uniQure, Spark Therapeutics, GenSight, Dimension Therapeutics, Voyager Therapeutics, Oxford BioMedica, bluebird, Juno Therapeutics, Kite Pharma, Editas, and others.
Our report is designed to enable you to understand current and future developments in gene therapy. It is also designed to inform the decisions of leaders in companies and in academic groups that are working in gene therapy R&D and in development of gene therapy enabling technologies.
For more information on the report, or to order it, see the CHI Insight Pharma Reports website.
As the producers of this blog, and as consultants to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, Haberman Associates would like to hear from you. If you are in a biotech or pharmaceutical company, and would like a 15-20-minute, no-obligation telephone discussion of issues raised by this or other blog articles, or of other issues that are important to your company, please contact us by phone or e-mail. We also welcome your comments on this or any other article on this blog.
