FDA Approves One-Time Gene Therapy for Adults with Hemophilia B

From Pfizer:

Pfizer Inc. announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved BEQVEZ™ (fidanacogene elaparvovec-dzkt) for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe hemophilia B who currently use factor IX (FIX) prophylaxis therapy, or have current or historical life-threatening hemorrhage, or have repeated, serious spontaneous bleeding episodes, and do not have neutralizing antibodies to adeno-associated virus serotype Rh74var (AAVRh74var) capsid as detected by an FDA-approved test. BEQVEZ is a one-time treatment that is designed to enable people living with hemophilia B to produce FIX themselves rather than the current standard of care, which requires regular intravenous infusions of FIX that are often administered multiple times a week or multiple times a month.

“Many people with hemophilia B struggle with the commitment and lifestyle disruption of regular FIX infusions, as well as spontaneous bleeding episodes, which can lead to painful joint damage and mobility issues,” said Adam Cuker, M.D., M.S., Director, Penn Comprehensive and Hemophilia Thrombosis Program. “A one-time treatment with BEQVEZ has the potential to be transformative for appropriate patients by reducing both the medical and treatment burden over the long term.”

Read the full press release.