Beam Therapeutics announced it will present new clinical data from its BEACON Phase 1/2 trial of BEAM-101, an investigational base-edited cell therapy for sickle cell disease, at the European Hematology Association 2025 Congress in Milan, Italy, taking place June 12-15, 2025. The presentation will include updated safety and efficacy data from 17 patients with severe sickle cell disease who received the one-time treatment.
"We are excited to share an updated safety and efficacy dataset from 17 patients in the BEACON Phase 1/2 clinical trial at EHA2025, as we continue to build on our understanding of this potentially transformative, one-time treatment for people living with SCD," said Amy Simon, M.D., chief medical officer of Beam Therapeutics. "SCD affects millions of people worldwide, and we are committed to delivering a potential lifelong treatment that addresses the root cause of this debilitating condition."
Novel Base Editing Approach
BEAM-101 represents a novel approach to treating sickle cell disease through base editing technology. The therapy consists of autologous CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells that have been base-edited in the promoter regions of the HBG1/2 genes. The treatment is administered via a hematopoietic stem cell transplant procedure as a one-time therapy.
The BEAM-101 edit is designed to inhibit the transcriptional repressor BCL11A from binding to the promoter without disrupting BCL11A expression. This leads to increased production of non-sickling and anti-sickling fetal hemoglobin (HbF), mimicking the effects of naturally occurring variants seen in hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin.
Comprehensive Data Presentation
Beam Therapeutics will present four separate presentations at EHA2025, providing a comprehensive view of the BEAM-101 program. The main presentation, titled "Base Editing for Sickle Cell Disease: Ongoing Results from the BEACON Study Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of BEAM-101, the First Base-Edited Autologous CD34+ HSPC One-Time Cell Therapy," will be presented by Ashish Gupta, M.D., MPH, from the University of Minnesota.
Additional presentations will focus on red blood cell health and function post-treatment, with data showing rheology and sickling parameters comparable to sickle cell trait. A third presentation will detail the integrated editing and manufacturing process design, demonstrating robust process yield and increased HbF induction.
Addressing Significant Unmet Need
Sickle cell disease is caused by a single point mutation, E6V, in the beta globin gene. This mutation causes the mutated form of sickle hemoglobin (HbS) to aggregate into long, rigid molecules that bend red blood cells into a sickle shape under conditions of low oxygen. Sickled cells obstruct blood vessels and die prematurely, ultimately resulting in anemia, severe pain crises, infections, stroke, organ failure and early death.
The disease represents the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting an estimated 100,000 individuals within the United States and approximately eight million people worldwide. The BEACON Phase 1/2 study is an open-label, single-arm, multicenter trial evaluating BEAM-101 in adult patients with sickle cell disease with severe vaso-occlusive crises.
Base Editing Platform Technology
Beam Therapeutics has assembled a platform with integrated gene editing, delivery and internal manufacturing capabilities. The company's suite of gene editing technologies is anchored by base editing, a proprietary technology designed to enable precise, predictable and efficient single base changes at targeted genomic sequences without making double-stranded breaks in the DNA.
This approach has the potential to enable a wide range of therapeutic editing strategies that Beam is using to advance a diversified portfolio of base editing programs. The company will host an investor webcast on Friday, June 13, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. ET to review key presentations from the EHA meeting.
