STAT+: A year after distressed buyout, what’s become of Bluebird Bio?
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- David Meek acquired Bluebird Bio roughly a year ago for what the source describes as "the pharma industry equivalent of loose change," when the gene therapy company was on the brink of bankruptcy.
- Bluebird Bio has since been rebranded as Genetix, with Meek giving one of his first interviews since the distressed buyout to claim the company has been "transformed" in 12 months.
- Meek stated in a "swaggering" interview that the company will dominate the sickle cell disease gene therapy market "for years to come," while lambasting unnamed competitors.
- Genetix projects it will be treating 1,000 sickle cell patients per year by 2030, according to Meek, though no clinical or financial data backing the target is disclosed in the available text.
Why it matters: Genetix's projection of 1,000 sickle cell patients per year by 2030 signals an aggressive push into a gene therapy market where competitors already exist, but Meek's dominance claims are stated without supporting financial or clinical data in the available excerpt.
