First-of-its-kind DNA immunotherapy wins FDA approval for a rare disease that steals people's voices

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval to Voceryq, the first plasmid DNA-based immunotherapy, for adults with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis — a rare condition in which growths keep returning on the vocal cords, forcing repeated surgeries just to keep the airway open and the voice working. In the trial, 7 of 26 patients who had needed at least three surgeries a year required no surgery at all in their first year on treatment. The therapy trains the immune system to attack the virus behind the growths.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation