CRISPR lessons; plus AbbVie enters obesity — a BioCentury podcast

BioCentury’s editors also discuss recommendations for early stage rare disease drug development

The track record of biotechs launched to create curative therapies using CRISPR-Cas9 provides new insights into the old debate over whether platform companies should validate their technology on established targets or pursue new ones. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the lessons learned by this small group of companies since their launch a decade ago.

They also discuss the entrance of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) into the obesity race via a $350 million deal with Gubra A/S (CSE:GUBRA) for a clinical stage amylin agonist — does it signal AbbVie’s belief in amylin monotherapy, or will the company be hunting for more obesity assets? The editors also talk about recommendations to streamline the early-stage development of rare disease therapies in the U.S.