REGN Reports Encouraging Data on Gene Therapy for Genetic Hearing Loss (Revised)

Core Insights - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN) announced updated data on its investigational gene therapy DB-OTO from the CHORD study, which targets profound genetic hearing loss due to variants of the otoferlin (OTOF) gene [1][9] - The latest data was presented at the annual American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNSF) meeting and published in The New England Journal of Medicine [1] Gene Therapy Details - DB-OTO is a cell-selective, dual adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector gene therapy designed to provide durable hearing to individuals with profound, congenital hearing loss caused by OTOF gene variants [2] - The CHORD study is a registrational phase I/II multicenter, open-label study evaluating the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of DB-OTO in infants, children, and adolescents with OTOF-related hearing loss [3] Study Design and Results - The study consists of two parts: Part A involves a single intracochlear infusion of DB-OTO in one ear, while Part B involves administration in both ears at the selected dose from Part A [4] - Results showed that 11 out of 12 participants experienced clinically meaningful hearing improvements, with three achieving normal hearing levels [5][9] - Among the three participants who completed speech assessments, all showed substantial improvement [6] Long-term Efficacy and Tolerability - Hearing improvements remained stable or continued to improve in eight participants with follow-up visits of 36 weeks or more [7] - Both the surgical procedure and DB-OTO were well tolerated across all participants [7] Regulatory Status and Future Plans - DB-OTO has received multiple designations from the FDA, including Orphan Drug and Fast Track status, and the European Medicines Agency granted Orphan Drug Designation [7] - REGN plans to submit regulatory filings for DB-OTO in the United States later this year, pending discussions with the FDA [8] Portfolio Diversification Efforts - REGN is diversifying its portfolio as its lead drug Eylea faces competition from Roche's Vabysmo, which has seen significant uptake [10] - Eylea HD sales surged 29% in the second quarter due to increased demand [13] - The company's oncology franchise has been bolstered by recent FDA approvals for Libtayo and linvoseltamab-gcpt [15][16]