CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation for CTX001 for the treatment of transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TDT). CTX001 is an investigational, autologous, gene-edited hematopoietic stem cell therapy for patients suffering from severe hemoglobinopathies.
The FDA’s Fast Track program is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs that treat serious conditions and fill unmet medical needs. A drug granted Fast Track Designation may be eligible for several benefits, including more frequent meetings and communications with the FDA and, if relevant criteria are met, the potential for Accelerated Approval, Priority Review or Rolling Review of a Biologics License Application (BLA).
In February 2019, CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex announced that the first patient had been treated with CTX001 in a Phase 1/2 clinical study of patients with TDT, marking the first company-sponsored use of a CRISPR/Cas9 therapy in a clinical trial. The Phase 1/2 open-label trial is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of a single dose of CTX001 in patients ages 18 to 35 with TDT, non-beta zero/beta zero subtypes. The companies are also evaluating CTX001 for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) and received Fast Track Designation for CTX001 from the FDA in January 2019 for SCD. The companies announced in February 2019 that the first patient had been enrolled in a Phase 1/2 clinical study of CTX001 in severe SCD in the U.S. and is expected to be infused with CTX001 in mid-2019. Enrollment in both studies is ongoing.
