Otsuka steps into the ocular gene therapy field through a technology licensing deal worth up to $1.5bn with ShapeTX, which in turn further expands the US firm's global reach following a $3bn collaboration with Roche. 

Six new drugs including Luxturna will be price-listed in Japan on 30 August, with the Novartis gene therapy set to become the second-most expensive therapeutic product in the country. Behind another round of market expansion-related price cuts for selected drugs, discussions on possible changes to the repricing system are ongoing.

The French non-profit, whose IP is incorporated in Zolgensma, is taking its Crigler-Najjar gene therapy into a pivotal study on its own for now. It hopes to be ready for an EU filing in two years.

The long-talked about wave of gene therapy approvals is beginning to reveal itself.