Biotech Shorts: Bluebird’s Zynteglo, a beta-thalassemia gene therapy, safety issue could prove problematic for gene therapies

Bluebird’s Zynteglo safety snag could spell trouble for other gene therapies, say analysts. Bluebird Bio’s one-time blood disorder gene therapy has been set back as a result of two cancer cases that occurred during a clinical trial. But the incident could ripple beyond the company’s specific products, analysts argued. The European Medicines Agency announced Wednesday last week that it would evaluate the evidence and decide whether to take further action against Bluebird. Bluebird launched an investigation into the cancer cases to determine whether there is any causal link.