From the latest COVID-19 advances to the emergence of game changer for heart failure, Scrip’s editor in chief Eleanor Malone reviews the big stories of the past three months. Safety issues around JAK inhibitors and AAV vector-based gene therapy were also to the fore, while biopharma financing continued apace.

The “chronic disease paradigm” presents a real challenge for companies marketing advanced therapies.

A bluebird executive spoke during ARM’s Cell and Gene Meeting On The Mesa about why the firm pulled Zynteglo out of the EU, but while progress has been made in the US, long-term challenges remain.

In response to industry input, the agency made a few changes to its draft guidance but several issues remain uncertain, such as what constitutes ‘minor differences’ between gene therapy products.