NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The next investor referendum on the resurgent gene-therapy field will arrive next month whenCelladon (CLDN)is expected to announce results from a mid-stage study of a gene therapy aimed atimproving the heart's pumping ability in patients suffering fromthe organ's advanced failure. Gene therapy uses engineered viruses to replace defective, disease-causing genes. Celladon's lead therapy, Mydicar, is a virus engineered to insert a working gene capable of producing a protein called SERCA2a into heart-failure patients. SERCA2a is responsible for helping heart muscles contract and pump blood more efficiently. Heart-failure patients have low levels of SERCA2a and hearts that do a poor job pumping blood around the body. Celladon believes infusing Mydicar should lead to higher SERCA2a levels and improved heart function. Must Read: 5 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Selling Celladon went public in January 2014 at $8 per share. The stock was tradingat $24.10, down 1.8%, on Wednesday morning, after rising by more than 30% in March as investors anticipate the Mydicar study results. View original post here: Celladon Heart-Failure Study Looms Large as Next Big Test for Gene Therapy … Continue reading →

A simulation from the Neitz lab of what colorblindness looks like, with normal color vision on the left and red-green colorblindness on the right. Courtesy of Neitz Laboratory hide caption A simulation from the Neitz lab of what colorblindness looks like, with normal color vision on the left and red-green colorblindness on the right. More than 10 million Americans have trouble distinguishing red from green or blue from yellow, and there's no treatment for colorblindness. A biotech company and two scientists hope to change that. On Wednesday, Avalanche Biotechnologies in Menlo Park and the University of Washington in Seattle announced a licensing agreement to develop the first treatment for colorblindness. The deal brings together a gene therapy technique developed by Avalanche with the expertise of vision researchers at the University of Washington. "Our goal is to be treating colorblindness in clinical trials in patients in the next one to two years," says Thomas Chalberg, the founder and CEO of Avalanche. Dalton the squirrel monkey during the color vision test. Courtesy of Neitz Laboratory hide caption Dalton the squirrel monkey during the color vision test. The agreement has its roots in a scientific breakthrough that occurred six years ago. That's when … Continue reading →