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Dan Budwick
Pure Communications, Inc.
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bluebird bio Awarded Two Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program Grants
Grants Supported by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010
Cambridge, Mass., November 2, 2010 – bluebird bio (formerly Genetix Pharmaceuticals Inc.), an emerging leader in the development of innovative gene therapies for severe genetic disorders, today announced the receipt of two grants totaling approximately $500,000 from the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) Program. The QTDP’s grants and tax credits are provided under the new section 48D of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.
"We are grateful to the QTDP Program for acknowledging the potential of our gene therapy programs," said Nick Leschly, president and CEO of bluebird bio. "The grants we received relate to our two lead clinical programs—one for the treatment of childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CCALD) and one for the treatment of beta-thalassemia/sickle cell anemia. Given the recent positive clinical data in each of these programs, we continue to focus our efforts on advancing our programs for the benefit of patients and transforming the treatment of severe genetic disorders through gene therapy."The $1.0 billion in funding and credits allocated to the QTDP Program is being distributed to companies with fewer than 250 employees whose research shows the greatest potential to result in new therapies that address areas of unmet medical need, those that could prevent, detect or treat chronic or acute diseases and conditions, and those that could significantly advance the goal of curing cancer within 30 years. Awards also took into consideration research that demonstrates the greatest potential to create and sustain high-quality, high-paying U.S. jobs and to advance U.S. competitiveness in life, biological and medical sciences, along with research that promises to reduce the long-term growth of health care costs in the U.S.
About bluebird bio
bluebird bio is developing innovative gene therapies for severe genetic disorders. At the heart of bluebird bio’s product creation efforts is its broadly applicable gene therapy platform for the development of novel treatments for diseases with few or no clinical options. The company’s novel approach uses stem cells harvested from the patient’s bone marrow into which a healthy version of the disease causing gene is inserted. After being grown in culture, those cells are given back to the patient. bluebird bio’s approach represents a true paradigm shift in the treatment of severe genetic diseases by eliminating the potential complications associated with donor cell transplantation and presenting a one-time transformative therapy. bluebird bio has two later stage clinical products in development for childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CCALD) and beta-thalassemia/sickle cell anemia. Led by a world-class team, bluebird bio is privately held and backed by top-tier life sciences investors, including Third Rock Ventures, TVM Capital, Forbion Capital Partners, Easton Capital and Genzyme Ventures. Its operations are located in Cambridge, Mass. and Paris, France. For more information, please visit www.bluebirdbio.com.
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