Sangamo Biosciences Inc (SGMO)

[ZincFinger]

The SB-509 trial was questionable from the start IMHO.

Diabetic Neuropathy is affected by many variables of which VEGF is only one. So there was always the chance that the ZF treatment would have the expected direct result intended (increase of VEGF) but that that increase would not have the expected results for it. And that, unfortunately, was exactly what happened. "The treatment was a success but the patient died."

The zinc finger therapy did indeed result in a higher production of VEGF, but that did not have the expected results. (Another variable affecting the condition was more important)

Thus the trial was, in a very real sense, a success for zinc fingers but a failure for their use to increase VEGF as a therapy for DN. (There are other conditions that increasing VEGF might be therapeutically useful but they have a similar risk as the DN trial. So IMHO SGMO was wise to drop SB-501 for now (later when it has more money it could do trials for its use in other conditions.)

Time to go after the "low hanging fruit" (monogenic diseases, etc.)