Bluebird’s stock is halted ahead of FDA meeting for its gene therapy candidates

Bluebird Bio Inc.’s
BLUE,
+3.32%
stock was halted on Thursday and will also be halted on Friday while a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee discusses two applications for gene therapies that the company is developing. Bluebird has asked the FDA to approve betibeglogene autotemcel for beta thalassemia and elivaldogene autotemcel for patients with early cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy who are younger than 18 years old. The FDA is expected to make a decision on beti-cel by Aug. 19 and eli-cel by Sept. 16. Bluebird’s stock is down 62.6% this year, while the broader S&P 500
SPX,
-0.66%
has declined 12.7%.