PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SwanBio Therapeutics, a gene therapy company advancing AAV-based therapies for the treatment of devastating, inherited neurological conditions, has conducted a healthcare resource use study confirming the substantial burden and economic impact of AMN on both men and women.
“The real-world data we have gathered illuminate the under-acknowledged burden of AMN: affected individuals are experiencing more comorbidities, higher rates of hospitalization, substantially more prescription fills, higher overall healthcare costs, and poorer clinical outcomes than their peers,” said Tom Anderson, chief executive officer and director, SwanBio Therapeutics. “These findings demonstrate that the standard of care for AMN is not enough – these patients need and deserve more.”
SwanBio’s study was based on a retrospective review of commercial insurance and Medicare claims, comparing resource utilization and health outcomes of men and women living with AMN to those without AMN from similar demographic groups.
Key findings include:
- Adults with AMN experienced more comorbidities, including peripheral vascular disease (men: 4.6% vs. 0.9%; women: 2.2% vs. 0.5%), chronic pulmonary disease (men: 6.3% vs. 2.6%; women: 6.0% vs. 3.6%), and liver disease (men: 5.6% vs. 0.8%; women: 3.2% vs. 0.9%).
- A significantly larger proportion of people living with AMN had at least one hospital admission (men: 32.0% vs. 6.1%; women: 23.2% vs. 7.2%).
- Commercially insured adults living with AMN 18-64 years old had dramatically higher annualized all-cause direct medical costs; this is especially true for men with AMN, whose medical costs are approximately 10 times higher per person per year. Men living with AMN also utilized significantly more prescription medications (18.1 vs. 5.4 pharmacy fills per year).
- Among those living with AMN between the ages of 18 and 64 enrolled in Medicare, mortality rates were higher (men: 5.3 times higher at 39.3% vs. 7.4%; women: 15.7% vs. 4.9%) and age at death was younger (9 years younger for men; 3 years younger for women).
These findings were recently presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting and International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Annual Meeting. For more information, visit swanbiotx.com/investors-and-media/events-and-presentations/.
About Adrenomyeloneuropathy
Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) is a progressive and debilitating neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in the ABCD1 gene that disrupt the function of spinal cord cells and other tissues. AMN is characterized by loss of mobility in adulthood, incontinence, pain, and sexual dysfunction, which all affect quality of life. Patients often experience adrenal gland dysfunction as well. Between 8,000-10,000 men in the United States and EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) are living with AMN. There are no approved therapies for the treatment of the disease; current standard of care is limited to symptom management.
About SBT101
SBT101 is the first clinical-stage adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy candidate for people with adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN). In preclinical studies, treatment with SBT101 demonstrated dose-dependent improvement of disease markers and functional improvement in AMN mouse models. SBT101 was also shown to be well-tolerated in non-human primates through six months post-treatment. The ongoing clinical program for SBT101 builds on this positive preclinical data, plus SwanBio’s deep understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of AMN and the AMN patient experience, including new insights being gathered in a proprietary natural history study, CYGNET.
SBT101 has been granted Fast Track and Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Orphan Drug Designation from the European Medicines Agency.
About SwanBio Therapeutics
SwanBio Therapeutics is a gene therapy company that aims to bring life-changing treatments to people with devastating, inherited neurological conditions. SwanBio is advancing a pipeline of gene therapies, designed to be delivered intrathecally, that can address targets within both the central and peripheral nervous systems. This approach has the potential to be applied broadly across three disease classifications – spastic paraplegias, monogenic neuropathies, and polygenic neuropathies. SwanBio’s lead program is being advanced toward clinical development for the treatment of adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN). SwanBio is supported by long-term, committed investment partners, including its primary investors Syncona, Ltd. (lead investor and majority shareholder) and Mass General Brigham Ventures. For more information, visit SwanBioTx.com.
