STAT+: A year after distressed buyout, what’s become of Bluebird Bio?
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- David Meek acquired near-bankrupt Bluebird Bio last year for a sum described as "the pharma industry equivalent of loose change," when the company was on the brink of bankruptcy.
- The company has since been rebranded as Genetix, which Meek says has been "transformed" within 12 months of the distressed buyout.
- In one of his first interviews since the deal, Meek lambasted competitors and predicted the company would dominate the sickle cell disease gene therapy market "for years to come."
- Meek projected that by 2030, the rebranded company would treat 1,000 sickle cell patients per year.
Why it matters: Bluebird Bio's rebrand as Genetix and Meek's 1,000-patient-by-2030 target is a swaggering counter-narrative to the company's near-bankruptcy just 12 months ago. The claim of market dominance rests on unproven manufacturing scale-up, physician uptake, and payer reimbursement for a high-cost treatment in a space where approved gene therapy competitors already exist.
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