News and views from day four of the BIO annual meeting include a fireside chat with FDA commissioner Robert Califf, gene therapy insights, and pharma efforts to provide cancer medicines in lower income countries.

News and views from day four of the BIO annual meeting include a fireside chat with FDA commissioner Robert Califf, gene therapy insights, and pharma efforts to provide cancer medicines in lower income countries.

Advisory committee will discuss five types of toxicity risks with adeno-associated virus vector-based gene therapy products at a two-day meeting in September, which follows some recent high-profile instances of adverse events that have delayed development programs.

Recent adverse events are ‘speed bumps’ that need to be worked around, biologics center head Peter Marks says; Morgan Stanley’s Peter Hwang asserts high-profile safety issues have added to unpredictability of gene therapy development, dampening investor enthusiasm for the field.