Gene therapy maker Sarepta tells FDA it won't halt shipments despite patient deaths
The highly unusual move is a latest in a string of events that have hammered the company's stock for weeks and recently forced it to lay off 500 employees. The company's decision not to comply with the FDA also places future availability of its leading therapy, called Elevidys, in doubt.
The FDA said in a statement Friday night that officials met with Sarepta and requested it suspend all sales but 'the company refused to do so.' The agency has the authority to pull drugs from the market, but the cumbersome regulatory process can take months or even years. Instead, the agency usually makes an informal request and companies almost always comply.
'We believe in access to drugs for unmet medical needs but are not afraid to take immediate action when a serious safety signal emerges,' FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in a statement.
Elevidys is the first gene therapy approved in the U.S. for Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, the fatal muscle-wasting disease that affects males, though it has faced scrutiny since its clearance in 2023. The one-time treatment received accelerated approval against the recommendations of some FDA scientists who doubted its effectiveness.
The FDA granted full approval last year and expanded the therapy's use to patients 4 years and older, including those who can no longer walk. Previously, it was only available for younger patients who were still walking.
Sarepta said Friday that its scientific review showed 'no new or changed safety signals' for younger patients with Duchenne's who have earlier stages of the disease. The company said it plans to keep the drug available for those patients.
'We look forward to continued discussions and sharing of information with FDA,' the company said in a statement.
Sarepta halted shipments last month of the therapy for older boys with Duchenne's, which gradually destroys muscle and skeletal strength, resulting in early death. The move followed the deaths of two teenage boys taking the therapy.
The company also confirmed a third death Friday: a 51-year-old patient who was taking an experimental gene therapy in a trial for a different form of muscular dystrophy. Sarepta said it reported the death to the FDA on June 20. The FDA said Friday it placed that trial on hold.
Sarepta noted that the gene therapy involved in the incident uses 'a different dose and is manufactured using a different process,' than Elevidys.
All three patient deaths were linked to liver injury, a side effect noted in Sarepta's prescribing information.
Earlier this week Sarepta announced it would add a bold warning to drug and lay off a third of its employees. The company did not mention the third patient death in its news release or conference call announcing those changes, sparking pointed criticism from Wall Street analysts.
Company shares fell more than 35% Friday to close at $14.07.
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Sarepta has received FDA approval for three other Duchenne's drugs since 2016, none of which have been confirmed to work. The company has long been criticized for failing to complete several studies needed to secure full FDA approval of its drugs.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Request Sample Pages : The prominent players in the global organ preservation market are Paragonix Technologies (US), XVIVO Perfusion AB (Sweden), Dr. Franz Köhler Chemie GmbH (Germany), Essential Pharmaceuticals, LLC (US), TransMedics (US), OrganOx Limited (UK), 21st Century Medicine (US), Shanghai Genext Medical Technology (China), Bridge to Life Limited (US), Waters Medical Systems (US), Preservation Solutions (US), Carnamedica (Poland), Transplant Biomedicals (Spain), Institut Georges Lopez (France), Global Transplant Solutions (US), Avionord (Italy), Organ Preservation Solutions (England), EBERS (Spain), S.A.L.F. (Italy), Biochefa (Poland), Vascular Perfusion Solutions, Inc. (US), and TX Innovations (Netherlands). Paragonix (US): Paragonix is the leading market player in organ preservation. It operates mainly in the US and Europe. The company has been focused on developments such as new product launches, partnerships, agreements, and approvals since 2016. 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Related Reports: Biopreservation Market Cardiac Monitoring & Cardiac Rhythm Management Devices Market Electrophysiology Market Human Organoids Market Transplant Diagnostics Market Get access to the latest updates on Organ Preservation Companies and Organ Preservation Market Size About MarketsandMarkets™: MarketsandMarkets™ has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets™ is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. Today, 80% of Fortune 2000 companies rely on MarketsandMarkets, and 90 of the top 100 companies in each sector trust us to accelerate their revenue growth. 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