From the time my wife found out she was pregnant, we celebrated a ritual each evening until the birth of my oldest son, Julian. Before we kissed good night, I put my face to her belly and sang the song “For Baby (For Bobbie)” to him. Without seeing…
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted a resubmitted biologics license application (BLA) from BioMarin Pharmaceutical requesting approval of the gene therapy Roctavian (valoctocogene roxaparvovec) to treat adults with severe hemophilia A. The FDA is now expected to decide by the end of March 2023 on whether…
A dreary day is unusual in the desert of New Mexico, where we live. When it happens, the sky opens, releasing a much-needed downpour of liquid gold. The dry ground is soaking up this scarce commodity. It’s a bad hair day for many who aren’t used to double-digit humidity, and…
BioMarin Pharmaceutical has resubmitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval of Roctavian (valoctocogene roxaparvovec), potentially the first gene therapy for adults with severe hemophilia A. The FDA delayed the company’s initial approval request in 2019, with the agency requiring two more…
Men with moderate-to-severe hemophilia A are again being enrolled in the Phase 3 AFFINE trial, which is testing the safety and effectiveness of SB-525 (giroctocogene fitelparvovec), an experimental gene therapy being developed by Pfizer and Sangamo Therapeutics. Pfizer, the study’s sponsor, had placed a voluntary pause…
Treatment with marstacimab (PF-06741086), an experimental antibody-based therapy developed by Pfizer, reduced the number of bleeds in patients with severe hemophilia who took part in a Phase 1b/2 clinical study. This held true regardless of whether patients had hemophilia A or hemophilia B, or had inhibitors…
If approved for hemophilia A, the one-time gene therapy Roctavian (valoctocogene roxaparvovec) would provide substantial cost savings per patient compared with other preventive treatments, specifically Hemlibra. That’s according to a draft evidence report issued by pricing watchdog the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). An independent non-profit…
A participant in a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating Roctavian (valoctocogene roxaparvovec), a gene therapy for hemophilia A, has been diagnosed with leukemia. A genetic assessment of the case, conducted by the therapy’s developer, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, suggested the cancer diagnosis was not linked to Roctavian. Details of…
Hemophilia A patients who develop inhibitors — neutralizing antibodies made by immune cells against clotting factors — have more expression, or activity, of genes involved in activating the immune system, a small study reports. “The results of our study reveal that there is an upregulation of genes involved with…
Good thing this column isn’t a podcast because I’m not speaking today. Last night, I chomped down on my tongue for the second time in two months. Not a big deal, you might say. True. Unless you have a bleeding disorder like hemophilia B, von Willebrand disease, or,…