Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT), a fully integrated,
late-stage biotechnology company advancing a sustainable pipeline
of genetic therapies for rare disorders with high unmet need, today
announced that all patients have been enrolled in the global,
pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating RP-A501 to treat male
patients with Danon disease.
After the two-patient safety run-in, followed by harmonized
global site activations, the remaining 10 patients were enrolled
across the United States (U.S.) and European Union within three
months. Given the prevalence of Danon disease across regions, the
Company plans to pursue regulatory filings concomitantly in the
U.S. and ex-U.S.
“From a clinical perspective, the important thing is that we are
moving closer to the goal of having a treatment for patients with
Danon disease,” said Barry H. Greenberg, MD, FHFSA, Director of the
Advanced Heart Failure Treatment Program and Distinguished
Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego Health. “I can attest to the
excitement and anticipation within the Danon patient community for
this novel, one-time treatment designed to improve cardiac
abnormalities associated with Danon disease and help preserve
normal cardiac function by delivering functional LAMP2B genes to
the heart tissue. The rapid recruitment of the Phase 2 trial
signifies the positive views of the study clinicians regarding this
investigational therapy.”
RP-A501 Phase 2 Pivotal Trial Overview
The global, single-arm, multi-center Phase 2 pivotal trial
evaluates the efficacy and safety of RP-A501 in 12 patients with
Danon disease, including a pediatric safety run-in (n=2), and a
dose level of 6.7 x 1013 GC/kg.
- To support accelerated approval, the study assesses the
efficacy of RP-A501 as measured by the biomarker-based co-primary
endpoint consisting of improvements in LAMP2 protein expression,
and reductions in left ventricular mass.
- Key secondary endpoint is change in troponin. Additional
secondary endpoints include natriuretic peptides, Kansas City
Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire, New York Heart Association class,
event free survival to 24 months and treatment emergent safety
events. These endpoints could support full approval with
longer-term follow-up.
- A global natural history study is running concurrently with the
Phase 2 pivotal trial.
- The pediatric run-in enrolled two patients in a sequential
manner with a minimum three-month follow-up prior to subsequent
enrollment. In addition, all patients enrolled in the trial are
required to have a three-months observational pre-treatment run-in
to enable an assessment of troponin (and other biomarker)
trajectories to optimally assess this key secondary endpoint.
Details about the Phase 2 study can be found at
www.clinicaltrials.gov under NCT identifier NCT06092034.
About RP-A501
RP-A501 is Rocket’s investigational gene therapy product for the
treatment of Danon disease and the first gene therapy for a
cardiovascular condition to demonstrate safety and efficacy in
clinical studies. Danon disease is caused by mutations in the LAMP2
gene.
RP-A501 consists of a recombinant adeno-associated serotype 9
(AAV9) capsid containing a full-length, wild-type version of the
human LAMP2B transgene (AAV9.LAMP2B) which, when inserted into
heart cells harboring mutations in the endogenous LAMP2 gene, has
the potential to fully restore cardiac function at its root.
RP-A501 represents a single dose treatment and is administered as
an intravenous infusion. In preclinical and clinical studies,
AAV9.LAMP2B has been shown to target cardiac cells (cardiomyocytes)
and deliver the functional LAMP2B gene to heart tissue, which
ultimately leads to improved cardiac structure and function in
patients.
In 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted
regenerative medicine advanced therapy designation, and the
European Medical Agency granted PRIority MEdicines (PRIME)
eligibility to RP-A501.
About Danon Disease
Danon disease is a rare X-linked inherited disorder caused by
mutations in the gene encoding lysosome-associated membrane protein
2 (LAMP-2), an important mediator of autophagy. This results in
accumulation of autophagosomes and glycogen, particularly in
cardiac muscle and other tissues, which ultimately leads to heart
failure, and for male patients, frequent death during adolescence
or early adulthood. It is estimated to have a prevalence of 15,000
to 30,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe.
The only available treatment option for Danon disease is cardiac
transplantation, which is associated with substantial complications
and is not considered curative, representing the high unmet medical
need for patients with Danon disease.
In 2023, Rocket secured an ICD-10 code from the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to document patients with
LAMP2 deficiency in Danon disease.
About Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT) is a fully
integrated, late-stage biotechnology company advancing a
sustainable pipeline of investigational genetic therapies designed
to correct the root cause of complex and rare disorders. Rocket’s
innovative multi-platform approach allows us to design the optimal
gene therapy for each indication, creating potentially
transformative options that enable people living with devastating
rare diseases to experience long and full lives.
Rocket’s lentiviral vector-based hematology portfolio consists
of late-stage programs for Fanconi Anemia (FA), a
difficult-to-treat genetic disease that leads to bone marrow
failure and potentially cancer, Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I
(LAD-I), a severe pediatric genetic disorder that causes recurrent
and life-threatening infections which are frequently fatal, and
Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD), a monogenic red blood cell
disorder resulting in increased red cell destruction and mild to
life-threatening anemia.
Rocket’s adeno-associated viral vector-based cardiovascular
portfolio includes a late-stage program for Danon disease, a
devastating heart failure condition resulting in thickening of the
heart, an early-stage program in clinical trials for
PKP2-arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a life-threatening heart
failure disease causing ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac
death, and a pre-clinical program targeting BAG3-associated dilated
cardiomyopathy (DCM), a heart failure condition that causes
enlarged ventricles.
For more information about Rocket, please visit
www.rocketpharma.com and follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube, and X.
Rocket Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements
concerning Rocket’s future expectations, plans and prospects that
involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if
they do not materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. We make such forward-looking statements
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws.
All statements other than statements of historical facts contained
in this release are forward-looking statements. You should not
place reliance on these forward-looking statements, which often
include words such as “could,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“intend,” “plan,” “will give,” “estimate,” “seek,” “will,” “may,”
“suggest” or similar terms, variations of such terms or the
negative of those terms. These forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, statements concerning Rocket’s expectations
regarding the safety and effectiveness of product candidates that
Rocket is developing to treat Fanconi Anemia (FA), Leukocyte
Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I), Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD),
Danon Disease (DD) and other diseases, the expected timing and data
readouts of Rocket’s ongoing and planned clinical trials, the
expected timing and outcome of Rocket’s regulatory interactions and
planned submissions, including the timing and outcome of the FDA’s
review of the additional CMC information that Rocket will provide
in response to the FDA’s request, the safety, effectiveness and
timing of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, Rocket’s
ability to establish key collaborations and vendor relationships
for its product candidates, Rocket’s ability to develop sales and
marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties
to sell and market its product candidates, Rocket’s ability to
expand its pipeline to target additional indications that are
compatible with its gene therapy technologies, Rocket’s ability to
transition to a commercial stage pharmaceutical company, and
Rocket’s expectation that its cash, cash equivalents and
investments will be sufficient to funds its operations into 2026.
Although Rocket believes that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking statements are reasonable, Rocket cannot guarantee
such outcomes. Actual results may differ materially from those
indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of
various important factors, including, without limitation, Rocket’s
dependence on third parties for development, manufacture,
marketing, sales and distribution of product candidates, the
outcome of litigation, unexpected expenditures, Rocket’s
competitors’ activities, including decisions as to the timing of
competing product launches, pricing and discounting, Rocket’s
ability to develop, acquire and advance product candidates into,
enroll a sufficient number of patients into, and successfully
complete, clinical studies, the integration of new executive team
members and the effectiveness of the newly configured corporate
leadership team, Rocket’s ability to acquire additional businesses,
form strategic alliances or create joint ventures and its ability
to realize the benefit of such acquisitions, alliances or joint
ventures, Rocket’s ability to obtain and enforce patents to protect
its product candidates, and its ability to successfully defend
against unforeseen third-party infringement claims, as well as
those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled “Risk
Factors” in Rocket’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2023, filed February 27, 2024 with the SEC and
subsequent filings with the SEC including our Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements. All such statements speak only as
of the date made, and Rocket undertakes no obligation to update or
revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240917628087/en/
Media & Investors Meg Dodge mdodge@rocketpharma.com
Media Kevin Giordano media@rocketpharma.com Investors
Brooks Rahmer investors@rocketpharma.com
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