After long years of endeavor, Scarlet Therapeutics Ltd. believes it is poised to realize the potential of red blood cells (RBCs) as drug delivery vehicles. The company recently closed a seed round and is now laying the ground for its first clinical trials in which cultured and genetically engineered RBCs will be used to deliver enzyme replacement therapies in the treatment of rare inherited forms of two metabolic disorders.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC) have approved a clinical trial application (CTA) submitted by University College London (UCL) to initiate a phase I/II trial of BGT-OTCD, Bloomsbury Genetic Therapies Ltd.’s liver-targeted AAV-LK03 gene therapy, in pediatric patients with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD).
Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have been reported by Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a recent patent. They are described as potentially useful for the treatment of diabetes and liver diseases.
Word from Immix Biopharma Inc. of updated data due with NXC-201 brought to the forefront an ongoing push by drug developers to come up with a treatment for AL amyloidosis. Immix has the only CAR T therapy in the works for the disease, and the principal investigator in the Nexicart-1 phase Ib/IIa effort is slated to speak May 19 during the annual meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy.
The most ambitious objective of any treatment is to eradicate the disease, acting on its origin to cure it instead of treating its symptoms. This is the purpose of the gene therapy against type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity that Fractyl Health Inc. is developing. Scientists from the Lexington, Mass.-based company have designed a strategy based on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) to transform pancreatic cells and reverse the disease.
With PTC Therapeutics Inc.’s positive results in phase III with sepiapterin for pediatric and adult patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), attention turned to the would-be showdown with Kuvan (sapropterin dihydrochloride), the drug from Biomarin Pharmaceuticals Inc. that was approved in December 2017.
Cgenetech (Suzhou, China) Co. Ltd. has described glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of diabetes.
Shanghai Meiyue Biotech Development Co. Ltd. has disclosed serine/threonine-protein kinase SIK2 (QIK) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of metabolic, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular, dermatological, endocrine disorders, transplant rejection, fibrosis and inflammatory disorders.
On the heels of the marketing OK in Europe, Protalix Biotherapeutics Inc. and the Chiesi Group’s global rare diseases unit scored approval of Elfabrio (pegunigalsidase alfa-iwxj) from the U.S. FDA for adults with Fabry disease.
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