Bayer's Cell, Gene Therapies for Parkinson's Disease Enters Human Trials

Bayer AG’s BAYRY Parkinson’s disease stem cell therapy has officially landed in the clinic, while another treatment for the neurodegenerative movement disorder is recruiting patients.
Bayer’s subsidiary BlueRock Therapeutics’s trial will eventually enroll 10 participants. Patients will have dopamine-producing cells surgically implanted into a part of the brain called the putamen.
The trial will primarily examine the safety and tolerability of DA01 cell transplantation a year after the procedure.
Secondary goals include assessing evidence of cell survival following transplant and motor effects one and two years after surgery.
Additional safety and tolerability data will be collected at the two-year mark.
The company has also kicked off a gene therapy trial in Parkinson’s disease, this time through Asklepios BioPharmaceutical. That trial is a phase 1b.
The AskBio trial, meanwhile, will also target the putamen with an AAV gene therapy. The virus will deliver a gene to boost GDNF gene expression, which has been shown in preclinical models to promote the regeneration of neurons and motor recovery.
The study has enrolled ten patients since August 2020.
Price Action: BAYRY shares are down 0.25% at $16.15 during the market session on the last check Tuesday.