Bluebird share drops 21% as it says it will focus on the US gene therapy market, citing “European payers”



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Shares of Bluebird Bio Inc. BLUE,
-25.11%
were down 21.6% in pre-market trading on Monday after the company announced several setbacks in its business as part of its second-quarter earnings announcement. Bluebird plans to end its gene therapy operations in Europe, citing “European payers,” who are primarily governments there. “European payers have yet to evolve their approach to gene therapy in a way that recognizes the innovation and expected lifelong benefits of these products,” said Andrew Obenshain, director of Bluebird, in a statement. Press. The company said it could license its three experimental gene therapies to a European company. Bluebird also said the Food and Drug Administration suspended its investigational product Eli-cel after a possible adverse event from a Phase 3 clinical study. Bluebird plans to complete its submission to the US regulator this year when the suspension is lifted. Eli-cel, or elivaldogene autotemce, is a treatment for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare disease that affects young boys. Bluebird stock is down 42.1% for the year, while the larger S&P 50 SPX,
-0.08%
is up 18.2%.

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