Orchard Therapeutics announced the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has validated the company’s Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for OTL-200, an ex vivo, autologous, hematopoietic stem cell-based gene therapy that has been developed in partnership with the San Raffaele-Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget) in Milan, Italy, for the treatment of metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). Validation of the MAA confirms that the submission is sufficiently complete to begin the formal review process.
“We are pleased that OTL-200 for the treatment of MLD is now under review with the EMA, bringing us another step closer to potentially making an approved gene therapy treatment a reality for children and families affected by this devastating and rapidly progressing disease,” said Mark Rothera, president and chief executive officer of Orchard Therapeutics. “We are committed to working with the EMA as they evaluate our application. Due to the nature of the disease and the urgency to treat those affected by MLD, we have also been working diligently in parallel to make OTL-200, if approved, available to patients in the EU as quickly as possible, while continuing our efforts to expand patient access outside the EU.”
Orchard previously announced in November 2019 that the EMA had granted accelerated assessment for OTL-200. Accelerated assessment potentially provides a reduced review timeline from 210 to 150 days once the MAA is filed and validated, not counting clock stops when applicants are requested to provide additional information.
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Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a rare and life-threatening inherited disease of the body’s metabolic system occurring in approximately one in every 100,000 live births. MLD is caused by a mutation in the arylsulfatase-A (ARSA) gene that results in the accumulation of sulfatides in the brain and other areas of the body, including the liver, the gallbladder, kidneys, and/or spleen. Over time, the nervous system is damaged and patients with MLD will experience neurological problems such as motor, behavioral and cognitive regression, severe spasticity and seizures, finding it more and more difficult to move, talk, swallow, eat and see. Currently, there are no effective treatments for MLD. In its late infantile form, mortality at 5 years from onset is estimated at 50% and 44% at 10 years for juvenile patients.1 OTL-200 is an ex vivo, autologous, hematopoietic stem cell-based gene therapy being studied for the treatment of MLD. OTL-200 was acquired from GSK in April 2018 and originated from a pioneering collaboration between GSK and the Hospital San Raffaele and Fondazione Telethon, acting through their joint San Raffaele-Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan, initiated in 2010.