Half of Adverum pipeline 'snaps out of existence' as adverse events force pivot to more common eye disease

And just like that, half of Adverum Biotechnologies' pipeline is gone.

The biotech announced after market Thursday that it would abandon a key eye disease indication and shift focus to another, but analysts aren't sure how the company will overcome the adverse events that sent them in the new, slimmed-down direction.

Adverum will no longer advance the gene therapy ADVM-022 in diabetic macular edema (DME) because of a dose-limiting toxicity, meaning the dose can not be escalated due to side effects. The biotech is forging ahead in wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) but analysts have low expectations for the program.