Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical group Ferring Pharmaceuticals has spun off a gene therapy company called FerGene with $570m in funding.
Ferring itself is providing up to $170m while the remaining $400m will be invested by Blackstone Life Sciences, a specialist investment platform owned by asset management firm Blackstone.
FerGene will concentrate on the late-stage development and commercialisation of nadofaragene firadenovec, a gene therapy for patients with bladder cancer that has proven unresponsive to the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine.
The candidate is currently in late-stage phase 3 development and the US Food and Drug Administration has granted it Breakthrough Therapy designation. Ferring will potentially handle the launch and commercialisation of nadofaragene firadenovec outside the US.
Ferring chairman Frederik Paulsen said: “Bringing a novel gene therapy to the market requires dedicated focus and capabilities, and FerGene, a Ferring company, will have the resources and team needed to help us potentially bring nadofaragene firadenovec to patients.
“Through this new joint financing model between Ferring and Blackstone Life Sciences, we aim to ensure more people with high-grade, BGC unresponsive, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer may benefit from this novel gene therapy if approved.”
