Sen. Isakson applauds FDA approval of Kymriah gene therapy – Life … – Life Science Daily

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) recently commended the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) approval of the first cell-based gene therapy available in the United States.

Officials said Kymriah was approved for certain pediatric and young adult patients suffering from a form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, serving as an innovative therapy that reprograms a patients own cells to attack a deadly cancer.

This type of therapy is exactly what we had in mind when I began working for the Advancing Hope Act, which was ultimately approved and extended in last years 21st Century Cures legislation, Isakson said. When I heard this wonderful news directly from the FDA, I thanked them and told them to get it on the market, because its time to start saving kids lives.

The FDA said Kymriah would be used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow and blood that progresses quickly and is the most common childhood cancer in the United States referencing the National Cancer Institute estimates 3,100 patients aged 20 and younger are diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia yearly.

Were entering a new frontier in medical innovation with the ability to reprogram a patients own cells to attack a deadly cancer, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said. New technologies such as gene and cell therapies hold out the potential to transform medicine and create an inflection point in our ability to treat and even cure many intractable illnesses.

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Sen. Isakson applauds FDA approval of Kymriah gene therapy - Life ... - Life Science Daily