Published on 22 Jan 2024 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance

Biotech Stock Roundup: VRTX/CRSP Gene Therapy Label Expansion, ALLK Falls on Update

It was a low-key week for the biotech sector with no major updates. Regulatory and pipeline updates from a few players were in focus.

Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories:

Vertex, CRSP Gene Therapy Label Expansion: Vertex Pharmaceuticals VRTX and partner CRISPR Therapeutics CRSP announced that the FDA has expanded the label of their one-shot gene therapy Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel) to treat transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TDT) in patients aged 12 years and older. This approval comes ahead of the target action date in March. The gene therapy won FDA approval last month for sickle cell disease in the same age group. Consequently, Casgevy became the first gene therapy utilizing the Nobel prize-winning CRISPR technology. This technology can selectively delete, modify or correct a disease-causing abnormality in a specific DNA segment.