With supply tight, Novartis readies gene therapy plant for production

Supplies of Zolgensma, the gene therapy approved last year for spinal muscular atrophy, are tight.

Novartis, which sells the one-time treatment, can currently make about 700 to 800 doses a year at its manufacturing plant in Libertyville, Illinois. That's enough to cover the infants in the U.S. currently eligible to receive Zolgensma but leaves little room for treating a wider group of patients, which the Swiss drugmaker aims to do.