Tavapadon

Reports Third-Quarter Diluted EPS of $0.88 on a GAAP Basis, a Decrease of 12.0 Percent; Adjusted Diluted EPS of $3.00, an Increase of 1.7 Percent; These Results Include an Unfavorable Impact of $0.04 Per Share Related to Acquired IPR&D and Milestones Expense Delivers Third-Quarter Net Revenues of $14.460 Billion, an Increase of 3.8 Percent on a Reported Basis or 4.9 Percent on an Operational Basis Third-Quarter Global Net Revenues from the Immunology Portfolio Were $7.046 Billion, an Increase of 3.9 Percent on a Reported Basis, or 4.8 Percent on an Operational Basis; Global Humira Net Revenues Were $2.227 Billion; Global Skyrizi Net Revenues Were $3.205 Billion; Global Rinvoq Net Revenues Were $1.614 Billion Third-Quarter Global Net Revenues from the Oncology Portfolio Were $1.687 Billion, an Increase of 11.6 Percent on a Reported Basis, or 13.0 Percent on an Operational Basis; Global Imbruvica Net Revenues Were $828 Million; Global Venclexta Net Revenues Were $677 Million Third-Quarter Global Net Revenues from the Neuroscience Portfolio Were $2.363 Billion, an Increase of 15.6 Percent on a Reported Basis, or 16.0 Percent on an Operational Basis; Global Botox Therapeutic Net Revenues Were $848 Million; Global Vraylar Net Revenues Were $875 Million; Combined Global Ubrelvy and Qulipta Net Revenues Were $445 Million Third-Quarter Global Net Revenues from the Aesthetics Portfolio Were $1.239 Billion, a Decrease of 0.1 Percent on a Reported Basis, or an Increase of 1.8 Percent on an Operational Basis; Global Botox Cosmetic Net Revenues Were $671 Million; Global Juvederm Net Revenues Were $258 Million Successfully Completed Acquisition of Cerevel, Adding Pipeline of Highly Complementary Assets to AbbVie's Existing Neuroscience Portfolio Raises 2024 Adjusted Diluted EPS Guidance Range from $10.67 - $10.87 to $10.90 - $10.94, which Includes an Unfavorable Impact of $0.64 Per Share Related to Acquired IPR&D and Milestones Expense Incurred Year-To-Date Through the Third Quarter 2024 Announces 2025 Dividend Increase of 5.8 Percent, Beginning with Dividend Payable in February 2025 NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. "We delivered another quarter of strong commercial execution and significant pipeline progress," said Robert A. Michael, chief executive officer, AbbVie. "Based upon the momentum of AbbVie's business and our confidence in the long-term growth outlook, we are once again raising our full-year guidance and are increasing our quarterly dividend." Third -Quarter Results Worldwide net revenues were $14.460 billion, an increase of 3.8 percent on a reported basis, or 4.9 percent on an operational basis. Global net revenues from the immunology portfolio were $7.046 billion, an increase of 3.9 percent on a reported basis, or 4.8 percent on an operational basis. Global Humira net revenues of $2.227 billion decreased 37.2 percent on a reported basis, or 36.5 percent on an operational basis. U.S. Humira net revenues were $1.765 billion, a decrease of 41.6 percent. Internationally, Humira net revenues were $462 million, a decrease of 12.4 percent on a reported basis, or 7.8 percent on an operational basis. Global Skyrizi net revenues were $3.205 billion, an increase of 50.8 percent on a reported basis, or 51.5 percent on an operational basis. Global Rinvoq net revenues were $1.614 billion, an increase of 45.3 percent on a reported basis, or 47.4 percent on an operational basis. Global net revenues from the oncology portfolio were $1.687 billion, an increase of 11.6 percent on a reported basis, or 13.0 percent on an operational basis. Global Imbruvica net revenues were $828 million, a decrease of 8.8 percent, with U.S. net revenues of $618 million and international profit sharing of $210 million. Global Venclexta net revenues were $677 million, an increase of 14.8 percent on a reported basis, or 18.2 percent on an operational basis. Global Elahere net revenues were $139 million. Global net revenues from the neuroscience portfolio were $2.363 billion, an increase of 15.6 percent on a reported basis, or 16.0 percent on an operational basis. Global Botox Therapeutic net revenues were $848 million, an increase of 13.4 percent on a reported basis, or 14.4 percent on an operational basis. Global Vraylar net revenues were $875 million, an increase of 16.6 percent. Global Ubrelvy net revenues were $269 million, an increase of 15.3 percent. Global Qulipta net revenues were $176 million, an increase of 33.6 percent. Global net revenues from the aesthetics portfolio were $1.239 billion, a decrease of 0.1 percent on a reported basis, or an increase of 1.8 percent on an operational basis. Global Botox Cosmetic net revenues were $671 million, an increase of 8.2 percent on a reported basis, or 9.9 percent on an operational basis. Global Juvederm net revenues were $258 million, a decrease of 19.7 percent on a reported basis, or 16.9 percent on an operational basis. On a GAAP basis, the gross margin ratio in the third quarter was 70.9 percent. The adjusted gross margin ratio was 84.4 percent. On a GAAP basis, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense was 29.1 percent of net revenues. The adjusted SG&A expense was 23.0 percent of net revenues. On a GAAP basis, research and development (R&D) expense was 14.7 percent of net revenues. The adjusted R&D expense was 14.2 percent of net revenues. Acquired IPR&D and milestones expense was 0.6 percent of net revenues. On a GAAP basis, the operating margin in the third quarter was 26.5 percent. The adjusted operating margin was 46.7 percent. Net interest expense was $591 million. On a GAAP basis, the tax rate in the quarter was 25.0 percent. The adjusted tax rate was 16.2 percent. Diluted EPS in the third quarter was $0.88 on a GAAP basis. Adjusted diluted EPS, excluding specified items, was $3.00. These results include an unfavorable impact of $0.04 per share related to acquired IPR&D and milestones expense. Note: "Operational" comparisons are presented at constant currency rates that reflect comparative local currency net revenues at the prior year's foreign exchange rates. Recent Events AbbVie announced that it completed its acquisition of Cerevel, adding a pipeline of highly complementary assets to AbbVie's existing neuroscience portfolio. Cerevel's pipeline includes emraclidine, a potential best-in-class, next-generation antipsychotic, that is being studied for the treatment of schizophrenia; tavapadon, a first-in-class dopamine D1/D5 selective partial agonist for the management of Parkinson's disease (PD); as well as CVL-354, a potential best-in-class kappa opioid receptor (KOR) antagonist being studied for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Cerevel is a strong strategic fit for AbbVie and has potential to meaningfully impact revenue into the next decade. AbbVie announced positive topline results from its pivotal Phase 3 TEMPO-1 trial evaluating tavapadon as a fixed-dose monotherapy treatment in early PD. In the study, tavapadon met the primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant improvement from baseline in the Movement Disorder Society - Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Parts II and III combined score at week 26. Tavapadon also met the key secondary endpoint, demonstrating statistically significant improvement from baseline in the MDS-UPDRS Part II score. Full results from the TEMPO-1 study will be submitted for presentation at future medical meetings and used to support regulatory submissions of tavapadon as a treatment for PD. Topline results from TEMPO-2, the Phase 3 flexible-dose monotherapy trial for tavapadon, are expected by the end of 2024. AbbVie announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Vyalev (foscarbidopa and foslevodopa) as the first subcutaneous 24-hour infusion of levodopa-based therapy for the treatment of motor fluctuations in adults with advanced PD. The approval was supported by results from a pivotal Phase 3 head-to-head, randomized and controlled clinical trial that demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in "on" time without troublesome dyskinesia and decreased "off" time, compared to oral immediate-release carbidopa/levodopa (CD/LD). AbbVie and Aliada Therapeutics announced a definitive agreement under which AbbVie will acquire Aliada, a biotechnology company advancing therapies using a novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing technology to address challenging central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Aliada's lead investigational asset utilizing this delivery technology, ALIA-1758, is an anti-pyroglutamate amyloid beta (3pE-Aβ) antibody in development for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The acquisition also allows AbbVie to utilize Aliada's novel BBB-crossing technology to enhance discovery and development efforts across neuroscience. AbbVie and Gedeon Richter announced a new discovery, co-development and license agreement to advance novel targets for the potential treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions. This collaboration expands upon the success of nearly two decades of partnership on CNS projects. AbbVie announced the European Commission (EC) approved Skyrizi (risankizumab) for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) who have had an inadequate response, lost response, or were intolerant to conventional or biologic therapy. The approval was supported by data from two pivotal Phase 3 trials in which Skyrizi achieved the primary endpoint of clinical remission as well as key secondary endpoints. This marketing authorization for Skyrizi marks its fourth approved indication in the European Union (EU). Skyrizi is part of a collaboration between Boehringer Ingelheim and AbbVie, with AbbVie leading development and commercialization globally. At the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology (EADV) Congress 2024, AbbVie shared more than 30 presentations that showcased the depth and strength of AbbVie's dermatology portfolio. Presentations highlighted data for Rinvoq (upadacitinib), Skyrizi and lutikizumab across a multitude of dermatological conditions. AbbVie announced that the EC granted conditional marketing authorization for Tepkinly (epcoritamab) as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of prior therapy. Tepkinly is the first subcutaneous bispecific antibody conditionally approved as a monotherapy in the EU to treat both r/r FL and r/r diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), after two or more lines of prior therapy. The EC approval is supported by data from the Phase 1/2 EPCORE NHL-1 clinical trial, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of Tepkinly in adult patients with r/r FL. Tepkinly is being co-developed by AbbVie and Genmab. AbbVie announced the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion recommending the marketing authorization of Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine) for the treatment of adult patients with folate receptor alpha (FRα)-positive, platinum-resistant and high-grade serous epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who have received one to three prior treatment regimens. The CHMP's opinion is supported by results of the Phase 3 MIRASOL clinical trial and the EC decision on this indication for Elahere is anticipated later this year. AbbVie announced submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the FDA for accelerated approval (AA) of Teliso-V (telisotuzumab vedotin) in adult patients with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wild type, nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with c-Met protein overexpression. The BLA is supported by data from the Phase 2 LUMINOSITY clinical trial and review of the BLA will be conducted under FDA's Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) Real-Time Oncology Review (RTOR) program. There are currently no approved anti-cancer therapies specifically for c-Met overexpressing NSCLC and if approved, Teliso-V would be the first-in-class therapy for this patient population. At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, AbbVie showcased new data from its innovative antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform in tumor types with high unmet needs. Highlights included full data from the primary analysis of the positive, single-arm Phase 2 PICCOLO trial, evaluating Elahere for high FRα expressing platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer (PSOC); patient reported outcomes from the Phase 2 LUMINOSITY trial, evaluating Teliso-V in advanced NSCLC; as well as new safety and efficacy data in pre-treated patients with advanced NSCLC and gastroesophageal (GEA) cancer, from a Phase 1 study of ABBV-400 (telisotuzumab adizutecan). Allergan Aesthetics announced the FDA approved Botox Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) for temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe vertical bands connecting the jaw and neck (platysma bands) in adults. Botox Cosmetic is the first product with four aesthetic indication areas: forehead lines, frown lines, crow's feet lines, and now platysma bands, making it the first product of its kind to go beyond the face. Allergan Aesthetics announced the launch of Botox Cosmetic for the treatment of masseter muscle prominence (MMP) in China. The approval is supported by Botox Cosmetic's well-established safety profile as well as clinical trial data that demonstrated Botox Cosmetic is effective in reducing the prominence of the masseter muscle. Botox Cosmetic is the first neurotoxin approved in China for MMP, the largest global MMP market. Allergan Aesthetics intends to develop Botox Cosmetic treatment for MMP in additional global markets and expand the use of Botox Cosmetic in the lower face. At the American Society for Dermal Surgery (ASDS), Allergan Aesthetics presented a total of 12 abstracts that showcased its commitment to patient outcomes and detailed insights and understanding of key concerns across differentiated patient segments. Highlights included four Best of Cosmetic Abstracts as well as a panel discussion on the impact of social media on patient experience and expectations when considering aesthetic treatment. Full-Year 2024 Outlook AbbVie is raising its adjusted diluted EPS guidance for the full year 2024 from $10.67 - $10.87 to $10.90 - $10.94, which includes an unfavorable impact of $0.64 per share related to acquired IPR&D and milestones expense incurred year-to-date through the third quarter 2024. The company's 2024 adjusted diluted EPS guidance excludes any impact from acquired IPR&D and milestones that may be incurred beyond the third quarter of 2024, as both cannot be reliably forecasted. Any potential IPR&D and milestones expense related to the recently announced acquisition of Aliada Therapeutics is also excluded from AbbVie's 2024 adjusted diluted EPS guidance, as the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024. Company Declares Dividend Increase of 5.8 Percent AbbVie is announcing today that its board of directors declared an increase in the company's quarterly cash dividend from $1.55 per share to $1.64 per share beginning with the dividend payable on February 14, 2025 to shareholders of record as of January 15, 2025. This reflects an increase of approximately 5.8 percent, continuing AbbVie's strong commitment to returning cash to shareholders through a growing dividend. Since the company's inception in 2013, AbbVie has increased its quarterly dividend by 310 percent. AbbVie is a member of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have annually increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. About AbbVie AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience and eye care - and products and services across our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at . Follow @abbvie on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or LinkedIn. Conference Call AbbVie will host an investor conference call today at 8:00 a.m. Central Time to discuss our third-quarter performance. The call will be webcast through AbbVie's Investor Relations website at investors.abbvie.com. An archived edition of the call will be available after 11:00 a.m. Central Time. Non-GAAP Financial Results Financial results for 2024 and 2023 are presented on both a reported and a non-GAAP basis. Reported results were prepared in accordance with GAAP and include all revenue and expenses recognized during the period. Non-GAAP results adjust for certain non-cash items and for factors that are unusual or unpredictable, and exclude those costs, expenses, and other specified items presented in the reconciliation tables later in this release. AbbVie's management believes non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors regarding AbbVie's results of operations and assist management, analysts, and investors in evaluating the performance of the business. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Forward-Looking Statements Some statements in this news release are, or may be considered, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions and uses of future or conditional verbs, generally identify forward-looking statements. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, challenges to intellectual property, competition from other products, difficulties inherent in the research and development process, adverse litigation or government action, and changes to laws and regulations applicable to our industry. Additional information about the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of AbbVie's 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in other documents that AbbVie subsequently files with the Securities and Exchange Commission that update, supplement or supersede such information. AbbVie undertakes no obligation, and specifically declines, to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law. SOURCE AbbVie WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

iStock, leolintang BioSpace has been compiling a list of the most innovative and exciting biotechs for a decade. Here we take a look back at noteworthy companies from each of those lists. 2024 marked the 10th year of BioSpace ’s NextGen list, a collection of biotechs that are on the cutting edge and poised to break barriers in the industry. As we prep next year’s list, to be released in January, we decided to take a look back at a notable honoree from each of our past lists. There were many fascinating companies that have gone on to great things; on the other hand, sometimes things don’t go as well as we predicted. We have a few not-so-great stories to tell, too. ___________________________________________ 2024 ReNAgade Therapeutics Status: Bought by Orna Therapeutics This company made our list for a pretty big reason: a massive $300 million series A in one of the toughest financing environments in recent memory. The company was launched in May 2023 to develop RNA medicines to treat diseases anywhere in the body. One of the lead investors in the round was MPM BioImpact, whose managing partner Ansbert Gadicke founded ReNAgade. Early in the biotech’s history as a stealth company, there was a bit of foreshadowing as to where the company would end up. ReNAgade struck up a partnership with Orna Therapeutics, which was also working on RNA therapeutics. The work attracted the attention of Merck in a deal worth up to $3.5 billion with development and commercialization milestones. Given the money on the line, Orna went all in on ReNAgade, buying out the biotech in May of this year—almost a year to the day after its launch. Financial details were not disclosed. See the full class of 2024 . ___________________________________________ 2023 Mariana Oncology Status: Bought by Novartis What a year 2023 turned out to be for Mariana Oncology. After raising a $175 million series B in September of that year, the company was bought out by Novartis for $1 billion , plus $750 million in milestones. Originally known as Curie Therapeutics, Mariana emerged from stealth with a $75 series A raise in December 2021 to develop new radiopharmaceuticals. The company caught our eye and made the 2023 list, but apparently Novartis was keeping an eye too. The radiopharmaceutical-hungry Big Pharma said at the time of the deal that Mariana’s technology would help it double down in the field of radioligand therapeutics. On a recent earnings call, Novartis executives expressed their excitement in the Mariana technology, saying that candidates from the buyout are speeding toward the clinic and could go after well-established antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targets. See the full class of 2023 . ___________________________________________ 2022 Eikon Therapeutics Status: Operating Eikon has spent the two years since landing on our list racking up cash and poaching executives from CEO Rodger Perlmutter’s former employer Merck. The biotech’s raises have been huge in a really tough market: a $148 million series A in May 2021, $518 million for a January 2022 series B and most recently, $106 million in series C financing in June 2023 . At the most recent raise, Eikon also announced the acquisition of a clinical pipeline. The company now boasts oncology assets in Phase I and II testing for non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma, respectively. The rest of Eikon’s pipeline is in preclinical research or discovery. See the full class of 2022 . ___________________________________________ 2021 EQRx Status: Bought by Revolution Medicines, assets terminated EQRx emerged with a lofty goal we could all get behind: develop drugs at a lower cost. It raised a cool $200 million in a July 2020 series A, then caught the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) wave to the Nasdaq just over a year later, adding $1.8 billion in an August 2021 IPO. The company was helmed at first by serial biotech entrepreneur Alexis Borisy. Trouble emerged shortly thereafter, with EQRx cutting lead asset sugemalimab for NSCLC after determining it had no path to market. The company shifted to two other assets, aumolertinib and lerociclib, but later dropped the former. Several rounds of layoffs made the company ever smaller before EQRx finally gave up entirely. The assets were terminated as Revolution Medicines bought out the company and its hefty $1 billion bank account. Borisy has since gone on to start a venture capital firm called Curie.Bio . See the full class of 2021 . ___________________________________________ 2020 Cerevel Therapeutics Status: Bought by AbbVie Cerevel as a company is no more, but its medicines live on at AbbVie, which bought the biotech for $8.7 billion in December 2023. The deal was part of a trend of neuroscience-focused biotechs being bought up by Big Pharma, with Cerevel moving in the same month as Bristol Myers Squibb bought Karuna Therapeutics for $14 billion. BMS was rewarded quickly with a recent FDA approval for KarXT (now Cobenfy) for schizophrenia, but AbbVie too has had success since sealing the deal. Cerevel’s investigational Parkinson’s disease therapy tavapadon improved control of motor symptoms when used with common treatment levodopa in a Phase III trial that read out in April. The data would support a regulatory filing for the therapy, executives said at the time. Two additional late-stage readouts for the therapy are due later this year. But the real star of the deal was emraclidine, which is in Phase III studies for schizophrenia. Cerevel also brought a major depression treatment to the table. “These assets clearly will be great additions to our neuroscience franchise,” said AbbVie’s CEO Rob Michael on the company’s second quarter earnings call. See the full class of 2020 . ___________________________________________ 2019 Genevant Status: Operating One of Roivant’s offshoots, Genevant is still operating today, working on developing nucleic acid delivery technology. Just last week, Genevant signed a deal with CRISPR gene editing company Editas Medicines to develop in vivo gene editing medicines for two undisclosed targets. Genevant has also recently signed deals with Novo Nordisk, Tome Biosciences, Gritstone bio and Repair Biotechnologies. But perhaps the most compelling story from Genevant since we named them to our NextGen list has been their litigation with famed biotech Moderna over the lipid nanoparticle delivery system used for its approved COVID-19 vaccine. Genevant and Arbutus Biopharma filed several patent infringement claims against Moderna arguing that the vaccine developer used their technology without license or proper compensation. A judge sided with Arbutus and Genevant in April, with a trial set for next year. See the full class of 2019 . ___________________________________________ 2018 BlueRock Therapeutics Status: Bought by Bayer Bayer bought cell therapy biotech BlueRock Therapeutics in August 2019 for $1 billion, but rather than absorbing the company into itself, the German pharma kept the name and unit operating. This unusual but refreshing strategy means that the company essentially lives on. In June 2023, BlueRock reported that Parkinson’s disease stem cell therapy bemdaneprocel was well tolerated with no significant side effects in a Phase I trial with 12 patients. It was the first cell therapy to show positive results in human testing, Bayer said at the time. A September update showed similar safety results. The therapy has since received a regenerative medicine advanced therapy tag from the FDA. Elsewhere in the pipeline, BlueRock’s investigational iPSC-derived cell therapy OpCT-001 for certain retinal disorders was cleared for human testing in September. The therapy was licensed from FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics and Opsis Therapeutics. See the full class of 2018 . ___________________________________________ 2017 Decibel Therapeutics Status: Bought by Regeneron Regeneron made a splash at this year’s American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy meeting in Baltimore when it showcased results of a Phase I/II trial of hearing loss therapy DB-OTO. The therapy restored hearing in two children who had a genetic form of hearing loss. While Regeneron’s branding was behind the conference presentation, the gene therapy came from Decibel Therapeutics. Regeneron bought the biotech for $109 million in August 2023, at which point the two companies had already been working together for six years. The biotech was integrated into Regeneron’s genetic medicines portfolio. See the full class of 2017 . ___________________________________________ 2016 CRISPR Therapeutics Status: Operating CRISPR Therapeutics made history last year as the first company, along with partner Vertex Pharmaceuticals, to gain an FDA approval for a CRISPR-based gene edited therapy. The companies were granted an FDA greenlight for Casgevy in sickle cell disease. The same day, bluebird bio got a similar nod for a competing gene therapy, though not one that involves CRISPR technology. The FDA approval was a triumph of modern biotechnology. But the roll out has been slow given the nature of gene therapy treatment, and only recently have patients begun receiving infusions of the medicine. Casgevy is now also approved for beta thalassemia, another blood disorder. The company has turned to the rest of its pipeline, including a CD19-directed CAR T cell program called CTX112, which is being tested in both cancer and autoimmune disorders. CTX131 is in development for hematological malignancies as well. CEO Sam Kulkarni has expressed confidence in CRISPR’s leading position in gene editing and pledged to be on top of emerging technologies. “One of the most important considerations for us is that we don’t get disrupted,” he said at the Goldman Sachs healthcare conference in June. “We are the leaders in the gene editing space and we have been, but we want to make sure that we’re looking at every improvement that’s coming out there.” See the full class of 2016 . ___________________________________________ 2015 Spark Therapeutics Status: Bought by Roche Like BlueRock, Spark Therapeutics was folded into a Big Pharma but kept its identity. Spark earned a spot on our very first NextGen list in 2015 thanks to its active clinical hemophilia program and fundraises totaling $122.8 million. The company caught the eye of Roche, which swooped in with a $4.8 billion bid in February 2019. The deal eventually turned into a bit of a boondoggle, with regulatory delays slowing things down until it finally closed that December. At issue was Roche’s hemophilia Hemlibra. Regulators worried that Spark’s hemophilia program and Hemlibra together could stifle competition and create a monopoly. Spark brought with it the approved eye disease gene therapy Luxturna. With the deal closed, Spark has charged forward under the Roche banner. The unit is developing a 500,000-square foot Gene Therapy Innovation Center in Philadelphia as its flagship manufacturing space. See the full class of 2015 .