Bluebird to spin off cancer drugs unit to focus on genetic diseases
By Manojna Maddipatla
The gene therapy developer suffered multiple regulatory
setbacks last year for both its rare disease and cancer drug
candidates. Splitting the company removes the diversification it
has with having both cancer cell therapies and gene therapy
programs, said J.P.Morgan analyst
The split is an interesting strategic development, but how it plays out is largely to be determined, Kasimov said.
Shares of the company were down about 3% in early morning trading.
Gene therapies, which aim to potentially cure patients of life-threatening diseases, have attracted hefty investments from drug developers in recent years - but are expensive.
In November, the submission of a marketing application for bluebird's blood disorder gene therapy, LentiGlobin, was pushed to 2022 from 2021 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration set additional requirements.
LentiGlobin or Zynteglo is approved in
The slimmer bluebird aims to expand access to Zynteglo in
Chief Executive Officer
The president of bluebird bio's severe genetic diseases
business,
The company and partner Bristol Myers Squibb Co also suffered a regulatory setback for their multiple myeloma therapy, ide-cel, last May. The drug still awaits the FDA's decision by March.
On Monday, the Wall Street Journal first reported the move
and said Leschly had cited the need for increased specialization
as the reason for the split.
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