LXEO News & Events

Lexeo Therapeutics announced that the company has finalized the SUNRISE-FA 2 pivotal trial protocol and statistical analysis plan intended to provide clinical evidence to support the submission of a biologics license application to the FDA for gene therapy candidate LX2006 under the accelerated approval pathway in 2028. "FARA congratulates the Lexeo Therapeutics team on this important milestone and is deeply grateful for their commitment to advancing the first gene therapy program for Friedreich ataxia," said Jennifer Farmer, Chief Executive Officer of the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance. "We also thank the participants and investigators in the SUNRISE-FA Phase I/II study, whose courage paved the way for this pivotal trial. We commend Lexeo for designing SUNRISE-FA 2 with scientific rigor while recognizing that a sham or placebo design is neither necessary nor appropriate in the context of gene therapy and adding a pediatrics arm to this study, putting patients first as we work urgently toward the first approved treatment for FA cardiomyopathy." The FDA has confirmed that no additional nonclinical bridging studies are required and Lexeo may use its optimized, high-yield Sf9-baculovirus final manufacturing process to initiate dosing in the SUNRISE-FA 2 pivotal study. Clinical drug product has been manufactured at commercial scale and is immediately available for patient dosing. Lexeo remains in ongoing discussions with the FDA regarding the confirmatory evidence strategy, including the potential use of certain secondary endpoints at the 12-month time point in SUNRISE-FA 2 to support full approval, and will provide an update once finalized. Based on the study size and duration of SUNRISE-FA 2, as well as expected PPQ and process validation requirements, Lexeo expects a topline data readout in the second half of 2027 and a BLA submission under the accelerated approval pathway in the first half of 2028.

Executives from 15 rare disease-focused nonprofits met on Wednesday with acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas and senior staff. In the meeting, Diamantas pledged to prevent political interference, Endpoint News' Zachary Brennan reports. Publicly traded large-cap drugmakers include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY). Biotech stocks include Replimune (REPL), Moderna (MRNA), Sarepta (SRPT), Xencor (XNCR), PTC Therapeutics (PTCT), Biohaven (BHVN), Edgewise Therapeutics (EWTX), Design Therapeutics (DSGN), Ultragenyx (RARE), Dyne Therapeutics (DYN), Wave Life Sciences (WVE), MeiraGTx (MGTX), uniQure (QURE), Regenxbio (RGNX), Novavax (NVAX) and Lexeo Therapeutics (LXEO).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it has issued draft guidance to help developers bring promising gene therapies to patients more efficiently by making greater use of existing scientific and regulatory knowledge. When finalized, the guidance will outline how sponsors can use publicly available information and established platform knowledge, including chemistry, manufacturing and controls data, nonclinical study results and clinical information, to streamline regulatory submissions for human gene therapy products that use genome editing in human somatic cells. "Today's action reflects the FDA's commitment to get safe and effective cell and gene therapies to patients faster, particularly those living with rare and life-threatening diseases who have few or no other treatment options," said Karim Mikhail, B. Pharm., M.S., Acting Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "By providing information on how companies may build on what is already known we are accelerating innovation without compromising the rigorous scientific standards that patients and the public depend on.Ultimately, this is about making sure that the promise of gene therapy reaches the patients who need it most, as quickly and safely as possible." This draft guidance supports the development of a wide range of cell and gene therapy products, including those that use genome editing, and is part of a broader set of complementary FDA actions in this area. Publicly traded large-cap drugmakers include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY). Biotech stocks include Replimune (REPL), Moderna (MRNA), Sarepta (SRPT), Xencor (XNCR), PTC Therapeutics (PTCT), Biohaven (BHVN), Edgewise Therapeutics (EWTX), Design Therapeutics (DSGN), Ultragenyx (RARE), Dyne Therapeutics (DYN), Wave Life Sciences (WVE), MeiraGTx (MGTX), uniQure (QURE), Regenxbio (RGNX), Novavax (NVAX) and Lexeo Therapeutics (LXEO).