Rocket Pharmaceuticals Announces European Medicines Agency Acceptance of RP-L102 Marketing Authorization Application for the Treatment of Fanconi Anemia

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT), a fully integrated, late-stage biotechnology company advancing a sustainable pipeline of genetic therapies for rare disorders with high unmet need, today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) accepted the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for RP-L102, its lentiviral (LV) vector-based investigational gene therapy for Fanconi Anemia (FA), complementation group A, a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the FANCA gene affecting DNA repair and characterized by bone marrow failure (BMF), cancer predisposition, and congenital malformations.

“The acceptance of the MAA for RP-L102 marks an important step forward in our goal of bringing this potential gene therapy treatment to patients impacted by this devastating childhood disorder. Currently, there are no existing options to potentially prevent BMF for patients with FA,” said Kinnari Patel, Pharm.D., MBA, President, Head of R&D and Chief Operating Officer, Rocket Pharma. “We are appreciative of the patients, their families, and researchers who helped reach this meaningful milestone and continue participating in the clinical development program. We look forward to partnering closely with the EMA throughout the review process to make RP-L102 available to patients with FA who are in need of new treatment options.”

MAA acceptance was based on positive, previously disclosed data from the global RP-L102 Phase 1/2 clinical trial. RP-L102 demonstrated sustained genetic correction, comprehensive phenotypic correction, and hematologic stabilization. The safety profile was highly favorable with no significant safety signals, and the treatment, administered without any cytotoxic conditioning, was well tolerated. There were no signs of bone marrow dysplasia, clonal dominance, or insertional mutagenesis related to RP-L102.

In the absence of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), the primary cause of death among patients with FA is BMF, which typically occurs during the first decade of life. Although allogeneic transplants can cure the hematologic component of FA, they confer significant side effects and substantially increase the risk of solid organ malignancies, which have become the most frequent cause of FA-related death.

The Biologics License Application (BLA) for FA remains on track for submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of 2024.

About RP-L102

RP-L102 is an investigational gene therapy that contains autologous (patient-derived) hematopoietic stem cells that have been genetically modified with a lentiviral (LV) vector to contain a functional copy of the FANCA gene. Rocket holds FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT), Rare Pediatric Disease, and Fast Track designations in the U.S., PRIME and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) designations in the EU, and Orphan Drug designation in both regions for the program. RP-L102 was in-licensed from the Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras and Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Díaz.