Rare diseases

Travere Therapeutics will gain an exclusive license to the oral BTK inhibitor civorebrutinib, which analysts at Guggenheim Securities said could be “complementary” to the biotech’s IgA nephropathy drug Filspari.
Fulcrum Therapeutics’ is down more than 50% Tuesday morning as the biotech discontinues development of its lead asset. Ipsen’s Tazverik, which belongs to the same class, was pulled from the market in March due to the risk of secondary malignancies.
ALS
For Peter Pitts, a former associate commissioner at the FDA, the appointment to the board of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is an opportunity to fulfill a promise he made long ago to a patient with ALS.
Edgewise Therapeutics will now focus on a handful of cardiovascular programs including EDG-7500 for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy thanks to the non-dilutive capital from France’s Servier.
After trial flops in spinal muscular atrophy, depression and bipolar disorder—and a costly rare disease drug rejection—Biohaven is undergoing a reset, recasting its former SMA candidate for obesity.
Beren Therapeutics is seeking approval in Neimann-Pick disease type C, an application the FDA was set to decide on by August 17. The new target action date is November 17.
Decnupaz is the first antibody-drug conjugate for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, an ultra-rare and aggressive blood cancer.
The FDA’s priority review acceptance of BridgeBio’s BBP-418 is another step toward what William Blair previously dubbed a “diversified commercial portfolio.” It also adds to the rapidly building momentum in muscular dystrophy more broadly.
After being hit by safety issues and subpar results in another trial, BioMarin’s Phase 3 test of Voxzogo for a rare skeletal disorder called hypochondroplasia showed efficacy “solidly above” what the drug has shown for achondroplasia, which causes dwarfism.
While both Beam Therapeutics and Wave Life Sciences touted notable biomarker benefits for their respective alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency assets, analysts said that Beam might have the efficacy advantage as Wave’s drug hits an efficacy “ceiling.”
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