Applicants for the Support for clinical Trials Advancing Rare disease Therapeutics pilot program had to meet certain criteria from the Center for Biologics Evaluation and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, which were in charge of selecting up to three sponsors each.
The FDAport for clinical Trials Advancing Rare disease Therapeutics pilot program, or STDenali TherapeuticsinNeurogener Larimar TherapeuticseleraGrace Sciencese drug development by providing select companies with more frequent engagement with FDA staff who will offer guidance on issues around study design, patient selection and product characterization. Participants work with the FDA to set milestones and success metrics.
Applicants had to meet certain criteria from the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), which were in charge of selecting up to three sponsors each. CBER sought sponsors deveFDAing cell or gene therapies for rare conditions that can cause serious illness or death before age 10, while CDER was looking for those wiFDAproducts to treat rare neurodegenerative diseases.
Denali’s program in START is focused on the genetCenter for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER)polysaccharidosis type IIIA, also known as MPS IIIA or Sanfilippo syndrome type A. Its candidate DNL126 replaces an enzyme that’s missing due to a gene mutation. The drug is currently in a phase 1/2 clinical trial.neurodegenerative diseases
Neurogene START program evaluateNGN-401bofusp (CTI-1601) forRett syndrome atagenetic diseasecondition that affects mobility and cognition starting in late childhoodNGN-401im data from an ongoing phase 2 trial are expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Grace’s GS-100, a gene therapy that treats NGLY1 deficiency, Friedreich’s ataxiaor START. NGLY1 deficiency is an extremely rare condition that causes a wide range of neurological symptoms of varying severity beginning in early childhood. Grace has treated two patients with GS-100 so far as part of a single arm, dose-finding phase 1/2/3 trial. A third patient is expected to receive treatment later this summer.
“We beliGS-100-100 has the potential to impNGLY1 deficiencyNGLY1the way drugs are discovered and developedNGLY1 deficiencyNGLY1rolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D., Grace co-founder, said in a press release. “The START program will help us not only improve the lives of patients suffering from NGLY1 deficiency, but also GS-100a trail for other diseases that are both rare and common.”
More announcGS-100 about START participants may follow soon. In an email to Fierce Biotech Research, CBER said four participants had been selected for the pilot program, while CDER has selected three. Once the FDA evaluates the initial pilot cohorNGLY1 deficiencyNGLY1second with more participants may follow, the agency said.