Bayer’s AskBio unit has reported the first clinical data for its congestive heart failure gene therapy, showing preliminary signs of efficacy with no serious adverse events linked to the treatment.

A gene therapy for heart failure being developed by Bayer’s AskBio unit has been granted fast-track status by the FDA, shortly after it showed preliminary signs of efficacy in a phase 1 trial.

In sharp contrast to earlier studies, patients with severe triple-vessel heart disease fared equally well whether they underwent open-heart bypass surgery (CABG) or a less invasive procedure called ...