Gene Therapy

Sarah Boyce, president and CEO at Avidity Biosciences, discusses her leading role at the company, as well as antibody oligonucleotide conjugate drug, AOC 1044, currently in development for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) with mutations amenable to exon 44 skipping (DMD44).

The program will initially allow 6 sponsors of clinical trials to participate and will provide sponsors with the opportunity for frequent advice and regular communication regarding clinical trial design and other development issues.

The researchers focused on coverage trends across an array of disease states, including lymphoma, vision loss, and spinal muscular atrophy, finding discrepancies in coverage across 16 states and Medicaid Care Organizations.

The therapy, to be marketed as Elevidys, is approved for the treatment of ambulatory pediatric patients aged 4 through 5 years with DMD who have a confirmed mutation in the DMD gene.

Experts evaluated the future of cell and gene therapies in the United States and offered insights on potential value-based payment models for these treatments.

With more than 3000 gene therapies in development, payers will have to grapple with the challenges of paying for these innovative but expensive therapies.