Bluebird's Gene Therapy Is Firing On All Cylinders

Goldman Sachs’ Salveen Richter believes that bluebird bio Inc’s BLUE second generation (Gen 2) LentiGlobin gene therapy is three times more potent than Gen 1, which is good news for rare blood disorders, sickle cell disease (SCD) and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia (TDT).

Richter maintained a Buy rating on the company, with a price target of $135.

LentiGlobin Potential

“For context, Gen1 was potentially curative in only less severe TDT. Now, we expect 100 percent of TDT patients to be addressed,” the analyst mentioned.

Richter also believes that for SCD, two other manufacturing process “tweaks” could render the treatment effective for all patients.

Related Link: Favorable FDA Pathway Should Keep Bluebird's Clinical Studies Flying Straight

In addition, the U.S. and E.U. regulatory approval strategy in TDT is clear, with a lower regulatory hurdle for the U.S. BoBo (in TDT) subset.

Commercial Potential

“Two gene therapy programs (Lenti-D and LentiGlobin) drive the commercial transition in 2018+ and we expect the suite of technologies to support pipeline expansion with 8-10 drugs on tap over 5 years,” the analyst stated.

Richter believes that among the upcoming catalysts for bluebird bio include ASH, scheduled for December 3-6, and initial CAR T data expected at the AACR in April 2017.

“In our view, Gen2 and optimized myeloablation reduce variability in SCD while additional “dials” provide further efficacy. We expect full SCD clarity in 2017,” the analyst added.

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