RP-A501 is being developed for Danon Disease, a rare genetic disorder characterized by thickening and weakening of the heart muscle, often resulting in heart failure, and for male patients, frequent death during adolescence or early adulthood. Rocket is the first company demonstrating safety and efficacy data in clinical studies for gene therapy targeting the heart.

An open-label, global Phase 2 pivotal clinical trial of RP-A501 for the treatment of Danon Disease has commenced. The trial is expected to enroll 12 male patients from the U.S. and EU. The trial will assess a co-primary endpoint consisting of LAMP2 protein expression and left ventricular (LV) mass reduction from baseline at 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Natural History of a Disease is the typical progression of the disease over a person’s lifetime starting from its onset

Natural History studies are observational studies that gather comprehensive data on the course of the disease to gain a better understanding of its progression and impact on patients. Data captured may include information on the physical signs and symptoms patients experience, test results (for example blood tests or imaging), genetic information, and health-related quality of life, over a period of time. This information helps describe the disease course and identify important factors (e.g. demographic, genetic, and/or lab test results), that may contribute to better or worse disease outcomes.

Travel, accommodation, and food stipend would be provided. Study assessments are provided free of charge.

Natural History Studies are particularly important for rare diseases. Given the diversity of symptoms and the small size of the patient population, these studies are often the only opportunity for researchers and physicians to address significant knowledge gaps and obtain a robust understanding of the disease and patient experience.

Engaging in a Natural History Study offers numerous benefits to the community, such as:

  • Raising awareness in medical, academic and pharmaceutical sectors
  • Empowering rare disease patient communities with knowledge and support for advocating better healthcare policies and support services
  • Enhancing patient care with improved insights into disease progression, allowing for more personalized treatment plans and potentially earlier detection of complications
  • Contributing to advancements in healthcare

These studies provide various avenues to help inform and design clinical trials, such as:

  • Highlighting areas of unmet medical need
  • Understanding characteristics of the patient population to define a treatment benefit from a patient’s perspective.
  • Describing disease progression, enabling the identification of clinical outcome measures and biomarkers
  • Provide patient-centric data for health authorities such as the FDA, and other public health institutions to use in their review processes of investigational treatments.

Interested in learning more?
Visit our Patients & Caregivers page or email us at clinicaltrials@nullrocketpharma.com

View more details about the Phase 2 pivotal trial of RP-A501 and natural history study on clinicaltrials.gov.

To read our Expanded Access statement, click here.

Our Science

Scientist working in lab - Our Science Hero Image

Rocket is driven by decades of experience bringing medicines to patients who need them most. In close partnership with patient, medical and scientific communities, Rocket is harnessing cutting-edge science and innovation to correct diseases at the genetic level to enable people to live long and full lives. 

Our Approach Image

Our Approach

Rocket selects indications driven by a single gene in specific cell types and develops therapies that directly target the genetic mutation in the affected cells. Our multi-platform approach allows us to choose the most practical gene therapy technology for the disease being targeted. Each program is intended to be transformative, enabling not only reversal of the disorder at molecular and cellular levels, but sustained relief from debilitating and potentially life-threatening symptoms.

Our novel, multi-platform approach gives us access to two proven gene therapy technologies – ex vivo lentiviral (LV) and in vivo adeno-associated viral (AAV).

Rocket Offers Multi-platform Gene Therapy Expertise - chart
AAV

AAV

The AAV platform is ideal for disorders that affect the heart, liver, eye or central nervous system.

The AAV transduction process occurs in vivo (inside the body) with the Rocket team engineering each AAV construct to incorporate the corrected gene. The “therapeutic AAV” is infused directly into a patient, resulting in expression of a healthy, disease-modifying therapeutic protein in the targeted diseased cells.

Different AAV serotypes preferentially bind to specific receptors, which enables scientists to utilize specific serotypes to increase the likelihood of successful targeting of particular cell types. For example, the AAV9 and AAVrh74 serotypes have been shown to have a particular propensity for heart muscle cells.

As with the LV-platform, the ultimate goal is to allow for sufficient quantities of healthy protein to be produced by a patient’s own cells.

Rocket’s clinical AAV-based programs are for Danon Disease and PKP2 arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), in addition to a preclinical program targeting BAG3-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

LV

LV

The LV platform is ideal for modifying hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to address disorders affecting the bone marrow. The LV transduction process occurs ex vivo (outside the body), which enables the gene to be integrated in HSCs before the therapy is given to the patient.

The process involves collection and isolation of a patient’s HSCs, insertion of the corrected gene into the HSCs via a LV outside the body, and the infusion of modified HSCs back into the patient.

The goal is to enable sufficient quantities of a healthy, disease-modifying therapeutic protein to be manufactured by the patients’ own hematopoietic cells.

Rocket’s LV-based programs include: Fanconi Anemia, Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I and Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency.

Our Pipeline

Rocket’s pipeline is comprised of first-in-class gene therapies that incorporate either AAV or LV approaches to gene therapy.

Discovery

Rocket’s Research and Development group in the Cranbury, New Jersey facility utilizes approximately 30,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratories for designing, optimizing and advancing candidate therapeutics to clinical stage development.

Manufacturing

Rocket’s manufacturing facility in Cranbury, New Jersey recently constructed in 2022 was designed specifically for Rocket’s manufacturing needs. Approximately half of the 103,720 square foot facility is dedicated to AAV Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) manufacturing.

Rocket manufacturing facility in New Jersey

Publications

Scroll to Top