The gene therapy era can be said to have begun in 1990, when the first gene therapy clinical trial took place. Some 3,000 clinical trials have followed that first study, a resounding affirmation of innovators’ increasing recognition of gene therapy’s breakthrough possibilities for treating a diverse range of disorders — especially afflictions with limited or...
When it comes to dermatologic conditions, gene therapy is still in its very early stages. However, we are seeing promising potential solutions for some rare genetic dermatology diseases, as well as ongoing research in more common skin conditions. The success of gene-based therapies relies on three critical elements:1 A well-defined disease geneA therapeutic geneAn efficient...
With their potential for long-term or even curative efficacy, gene therapies are of great interest to researchers, clinicians, patients and caregivers alike. But coordinating and conducting a global, multi-center gene therapy trial is a complex, high-risk undertaking. Beyond the usual protocols and procedures required to ensure patient safety and data quality, gene therapy studies must...
Gene therapy holds the potential of long-term efficacy or even a cure for diseases with an underlying genetic basis, offering hope to patients with currently incurable diseases. The use of gene therapy for dermatologic conditions is attractive for many reasons:1 As the largest organ of the human body, skin is easily accessible for gene deliveryThe...
The field of gene medicine has a history filled with hope and tragedy, successes and cautionary tales. The world’s first gene therapy was approved in Europe in 2012, only to be taken off the market five years later due to regulatory and commercial barriers. Now, more than six years after the first approval, gene therapy...
Decades of painstaking research have recently begun to yield gene therapy products that are delivering meaningful benefits to human health. The approvals of voretigene neparvovec-rzyl (Luxturna) for inherited vision loss, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) for lymphoblastic leukemia, and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) for lymphoma have ushered in a new era of therapeutics. With the rapid evolution of the...
In 1976, pop culture icon John Travolta starred in the made-for-television movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble about a young man with a compromised immune system. The premise of the film is that Travolta’s character has to decide between living in isolation behind a protective bubble or dying engaged with the physical world. Hollywood...
To achieve operational excellence in gene therapy trials, sponsors must understand – and overcome – obstacles ranging from start-up regulations and site selection to patient recruitment and retention. Gene therapy holds promise for treating a wide range of diseases, from cancer and diabetes to rare genetic disorders. It has also sparked great interest because it...
It’s been 46 years since researchers Theodore Friedmann and Richard Roblin published a landmark paper in the journal Science that posed a provocative question: “Gene therapy for human genetic disease?” And while clinical trials for gene therapy drugs have become much more common in the past 20 years — more than 2,400 had been conducted...
Between navigating relatively uncharted territory and the practical limitations of most gene therapy delivery systems, ensuring successful clinical trials of these products is a serious challenge for even the most experienced researchers. Compounding this is the long-term nature of most gene therapy trials — it’s not unusual to have follow-up periods of a decade or more....