SAF grabs spotlight at Paris Air Show

The Paris Air Show puts a spotlight on SAF, and World Sickle Cell Day (yesterday) highlights the importance of advancing new treatments—which could be here soon. (571 words, 2 minutes, 51 seconds)

SAF grabs spotlight at Paris Air Show

Major plans to increase production and use of sustainable aviation fuels were announced as the industry-leading Paris Air Show took off yesterday.

What’s happening: The world’s largest air show—usually biennial but interrupted by COVID—brings together the aerospace industry through Sunday to review new technology and make big deals. A key theme has been reducing emissions—with sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) seen as the best-available solution, reports Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

What are SAFs? Typically manufactured from waste and renewable biomass, SAFs drop into standard jet engines and can lower emissions by 80% compared to conventional jet fuel.

Host country commits: French President Emmanuel Macron set the stage Friday, announcing a EUR 200 million public-private investment to boost production of SAFs, including construction of a SAF plant in Lacq, France, Reuters reports.

Industry climbs on board: Air France KLM discussed its strategy to achieve 10% SAF use by 2030, while TotalEnergies yesterday announced plans to produce 1.5 million tons per year of SAFs–projected to be 10% of the world’s SAF market—by 2030.

Why SAFS matter: SAFs only release carbon captured by organic materials during their lifetime—while fossil fuels release carbon captured over millions of years. BIO member LanzaTech actually reuses captured carbon dioxide, turning it into biofuel using bacteria, and is expanding production capacity.

U.S. policy promotes SAF growth: The U.S. is seeking SAF production of 3 billion gallons annually by 2030 through the SAF Grand Challenge, and the Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits for SAF.

Listen: I am BIO podcast-Green Fuels Have Taken Off

Could we see new sickle cell treatments soon?

Ahead of World Sickle Cell Day (yesterday), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced priority review of a groundbreaking personalized sickle cell treatment being developed by BIO members.

The treatment:Exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) involves editing a patient’s own stem cells to make hemoglobin F (HbF), which occurs naturally during fetal development. Elevated HbF could reduce painful vaso-occlusive crisis in sickle cell patients and transfusion requirements in transfusion dependent beta thalassemia (TDT).

The partnership: Two BIO members, Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics, partnered on joint research in 2015. This is the first potential treatment coming from that partnership, Vertex says.

The news: On June 8, the FDA accepted Biologics License Applications to evaluate ongoing clinical trials, with planned action dates of December 8 for priority review of exa-cel for SCD treatment and March 30 for standard review for TDT.

Why it matters: As BIO’s new chair Dr. Ted Love previously told us, in the U.S., SCD disproportionately affects Black and African Americans and “epitomizes healthcare inequity” with a long-time lack of investment in R&D.   

More innovations expected: Dr. Love was CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), recently purchased by Pfizer; GBT’s Oxbryta was the first drug to attack the underlying cause of SCD rather than the symptoms. GBT and other firms have additional SCD therapies under development. 

President Biden’s Tuesday: Talking to the press about addressing opportunities and risks of AI. Later, flying to California to unveil more than $600 million in federal spending to address impacts of climate change—and to engage in campaign fundraising, per the Los Angeles Times. ICYMI, the White House plans to appoint Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, as the new Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: Not much going on today. On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up the “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024.”