Gene therapy targets chronic nerve pain in new trial
NCT ID NCT06980948
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a one-time gene therapy called ST-503 for people with chronic pain from small fiber neuropathy that hasn't improved with standard treatments. The therapy aims to block pain signals before they reach the brain. The trial involves 27 adults and compares the gene therapy to a sham procedure to check safety and pain relief.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- ST-503 gene therapy
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a new way to manage chronic pain that hasn't responded to other treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial with only 27 people, so it's too soon to know if it's safe or effective. Gene therapies can have unexpected side effects.
Why investors are watching
Sangamo Therapeutics is testing ST-503, a one-time gene therapy injected into the spinal fluid, for people with severe pain from small fiber neuropathy. The trial has only 27 participants and is in early phases, so the main question is whether the treatment is safe and tolerable. For a small company like Sangamo, this readout matters because a clear safety signal could validate its gene therapy platform beyond its other programs.
If it works: If ST-503 proves safe and shows any hint of pain relief, Sangamo could advance the drug to later-stage testing and strengthen its pipeline. A positive result might also attract partnership interest from larger drug companies looking for non-opioid pain treatments.
If it fails: Early gene therapy trials often fail on safety or efficacy, and a poor result could force Sangamo to abandon the program. A delay or negative readout would also weigh on the company's prospects, since it has few other late-stage assets to fall back on.
AI-written from the trial record. Speculative, and not investment advice.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1/2
Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.
- Participants
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About 27 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Dec 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria 1. Diagnostic characterization of Small Fiber Neuropathy (SFN) according to the Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities and Networks (ACTTION) criteria. 2. Medical record documentation that pain is refractory to 2 of 3 categories of first line medical therapy for at ≥ 6 months prior to screening. 3. Serum sample negative for pre-existing anti-AAV9 antibodies determined by assay detection limit Exclusion Criteria 1. Drug- and alcohol-related: 1. Persons using opioid analgesics for under 3 months or persons who are not on a stable dose of opioids; if on a stable dose, the dose may decrease over the course of the study but should not be increased. 2. History of known alcohol abuse, opioid analgesic abuse, or illicit drug abuse within 2 years of Screening. 3. Positive urine test for drugs of abuse (including opiates, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, cocaine, barbiturates, and phencyclidine) without prescription and investigator approval, at Screening and Day -1. 4. Use of cannabinoids is not permitted. 2. Persons with Fabry's disease, with erythromelalgia, with peripheral neuropathies due to alcohol or drug toxicity, or with diagnosed channelopathies 3. Procedure-related: 1. Contraindications to LP, general anesthesia or sedation 2. Any medical disorders that, in the opinion of the Investigator, could interfere with LP including but not limited to evidence for a pressure gradient between supratentorial and infratentorial compartments, Arnold-Chiari malformation, bleeding diathesis, clinically significant coagulopathy, thrombocytopenia, increased intracranial pressure, or spine disease or past surgical procedures involving the spine 4. Infectious disease-related: 1. Active viral infection or bacterial 2. A severe infection (e.g., pneumonia, septicemia, central nervous system infections \[e.g., meningitis, encephalitis\]) within 12 weeks prior to Screening 5. Hepatic disease- and hepatotoxic medication-related: 1. Presence of clinically relevant liver disease 2. Hepatic dysfunction as indicated by one or more of the following: i. Albumin ≤ 3.5 g/dL ii. Total bilirubin \> 1.5 x ULN and direct bilirubin ≥0.5 mg/dL iii. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) \> 2 x ULN iv. Alanine transaminase (ALT) or aspartate transaminase (AST) \> 1.5 x ULN 3. Hepatotoxic medications should be avoided during the study period including acetaminophen exceeding 4 gm/day unless essential to patient's treatment, approved by investigator, and hepatic dysfunction is not identified 4. Hepatotoxic supplement use during the study period 6. Cancer-related: a. History of cancer, including B-cell cancers, within 5 years of Screening i. Exceptions to this exclusion are fully excised non-melanoma skin cancers, non-metastatic prostate cancer, and fully treated ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast, provided subject has been stable for at least 6 months b. Previous autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplant, peripheral stem cell transplant or solid organ transplantation 7. Previously received gene or cellular therapy
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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The places running it
11 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Show contact details
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Study contacts
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH)
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10027, United States
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Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGLebanon, New Hampshire, 03766, United States
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HonorHealth
RECRUITINGScottsdale, Arizona, 85260, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
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Johns Hopkins University
RECRUITINGBaltimore, Maryland, 21218, United States
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Massachusetts General Hospital
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
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The University of California, San Diego
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGLa Jolla, California, 92093, United States
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University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
RECRUITINGLittle Rock, Arkansas, 72205, United States
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University of North Carolina Medical Center
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGChapel Hill, North Carolina, 27514, United States
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University of Utah
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGSalt Lake City, Utah, 84112, United States
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Vanderbilt University
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGNashville, Tennessee, 37235, United States
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Virginia Commonwealth University
RECRUITINGRichmond, Virginia, 23284, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a brain wave reading reveal who benefits from spinal cord stimulation?
- Can magnetic pulses to the brain quiet nerve pain?
- Could spinal cord stimulation help repair nerves in small fiber neuropathy?
- Could a quick brain zap ease Long-Term nerve pain?
- Could a tiny dose of naltrexone ease HIV nerve pain without opioids?
- Magnetic pulses to the brain may ease stubborn nerve pain