An FDA panel is scheduled to review bluebird bio Inc.’s (BLUE) Betibeglogene autotemcel, proposed for beta thalassemia, on June 9, 2022.Beta thalassemia, an inherited rare blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin, is caused due to mutations in the HBB gene. (HBB is Hemoglobin subunit Beta).Betibeglogene autotemcel, or Beti-cel in short, is a one-time gene therapy that uses a modified virus to insert a functioning version of the HBB gene into the patient’s own blood cells.Beti-cel received approval from the European Medicines Agency in June 2019 and was marketed in Europe under the brand name Zynteglo. The drug was withdrawn from the European market last year due to pricing issues.The FDA decision on Beti-cel is expected on August 19, 2022.If approved, Beti-cel will join Spark Therapeutics’ Luxturna and Novartis’ Zolgensma on the list of approved gene treatments in the United States.BLUE closed Thursday’s (May 26, 2022) trading at $3.16.