A Phase 1/2 clinical trial is recruiting adults with late-onset Pompe disease to test Audentes Therapeutics‘ investigational gene therapy AT845, the company has announced. The trial (NCT04174105) will be conducted at clinical sites in the U.S., Germany, and the U.K. It aims to recruit up to…
While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic won’t have much of an impact on cash available for new biotech startups, it has begun to cause delays in the development of gene therapies to treat a variety of rare diseases. That’s the consensus of industry experts who spoke in a May 26 webinar…
The gleaming new Dutch headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), fronting Domenico Scarlattilaan in Amsterdam’s suburban Zuidas business district, finally opened for business last month — just over two years after the European Union decided to relocate the EMA to the Netherlands in the wake of Brexit.
Asklepios Biopharmaceutical (AskBio) has introduced a collaborative program designed to educate patients who may benefit from gene therapy, and to support those in clinical trials. Called AskFirst, the program is intended to keep patients and families apprised of the company’s gene therapy research and potential cures for…
With so much recent publicity surrounding gene therapy, it’s no surprise that the topic was a major focus of the recent 2019 NORD Rare Diseases & Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit. From diagnosis and clinical trial design to manufacturing, pricing strategies, and ethical concerns, gene therapy — both its high…
Despite skyrocketing healthcare costs, President Trump is committed to protecting the 30 million or so Americans with rare diseases and ensuring timely, affordable access to lifesaving treatments, the nation’s highest-ranking health official said. “We have to think about how our financing system can protect those with serious and rare illnesses.
A glance around the walls of Barry J. Byrne’s office reveals a lot about the pediatric cardiologist who runs the Powell Gene Therapy Center at University of Florida (UF). In one corner is an unusual painting by 9-year-old Will Barkowsky of Jacksonville, Fla. Will, the first boy with…
A molecular “tag” to improve distribution of the acid-alpha glucosidase (GAA) protein within cells enhanced the efficacy of gene therapy in a mouse model of Pompe disease, a recent study suggests. The study, titled “AAV Gene Therapy Utilizing Glycosylation-Independent Lysosomal Targeting Tagged GAA in the…
Amicus Therapeutics announced that it has entered into a manufacturing agreement with Paragon Bioservices to drive the development of technologies, including gene therapies, now in preclinical testing for the treatment of rare genetic disorders like Pompe disease. These include a series of lysosomal disorder programs, jointly developed by Paragon (now…
Salmeterol, a vasodilator approved for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), has shown potential to improve the effectiveness  of gene therapy for Pompe disease. Studies in mice demonstrated that administering salmeterol as an add-on treatment to gene therapy can significantly reduce the amount…
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