Bluebird gets European green light for gene therapy production – BioPharma Dive

Dive Brief:

The EMA's green light for Bluebird's manufacturing removes a final hurdle standing in the way of marketing the gene therapy, which costs $1.8 million per patient.

A requirement from European authorities to narrow drug product specifications for Zynteglo forced the company to delay the gene therapy's launch later than when Wall Street analysts had expected.

In a statement, Apceth said it's ready for the challenge to bring Bluebird's treatment to market. Between 2,000 and 3,000 patients in the European Union would be eligible under the conditions approved by regulators for Zynteglo's use.

Bluebird has cautioned investors to take a long view of the new treatment's prospects, and to expect a slow start. In addition to winning approval for the new manufacturing specifications, Bluebird has to navigate through healthcare systems that aren't used to paying large sums for a one-time treatment.

In hopes to alleviating those problems, the company has offered an installment plan that would require later payments only if the treatment continues to benefit patients. The hope is that Zynteglo saves healthcare dollars by sparing beta-thalassemia patients the need for regular blood transfusions and the complications that can go along with them.

Patients with the blood disorder carry a genetic mutation that hinders the body from effectively producing the crucial oxygen-carrying protein hemoglobin. As a result, they often require transfusions every two to five weeks to fight anemia.

"This is one step along the commercial journey as we advance our ongoing launch and market access activities on a country-by-country basis," said Alison Finger, Bluebird's chief commercial officer, in the company's statement on the EMA's nod.

In a September company presentation, Bluebird said it wants to make sure to "get the model right" as it looks toward future gene therapies it's developing in its pipeline. The company is initially planning to offer Zynteglo through treatment centers in Germany, Italy, the U.K. and France, with a drug manufacturing facility in Munich.

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Bluebird gets European green light for gene therapy production - BioPharma Dive