Bayer HealthCare and Dimension Therapeutics agree haemophilia partnership

Bayer HealthCare has announced a new collaboration with Dimension Therapeutics for the development and commercialisation of a novel gene therapy for the treatment of haemophilia A.

Dimension Therapeutics, a company focused on developing novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy treatments for rare diseases, will take responsibility for all pre-clinical development activities and initial phase I/IIa clinical trials, with funding from Bayer.

Depending on the outcome of these early studies, Bayer then will conduct a confirmatory phase III trial and make the appropriate regulatory submissions. It will be granted worldwide rights to commercialise the potential future product for the treatment of haemophilia A.

The AAV vector technology that will be used allows for systemic intravenous administration of the clotting factor gene in vivo. It has been shown in preclinical studies to target the liver, resulting in long-lasting expression of FVIII protein at therapeutic levels.

Professor Dr Andreas Busch, member of the Bayer HealthCare executive committee and head of global drug discovery, said: "We are excited to partner with Dimension Therapeutics to jointly harness the power of gene therapy to drive the development of new long-term options in treating this disease."

Earlier this month, the company announced an additional new partnership with Orion Corporation, focusing on the development of a new prostate cancer treatment.