The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Pfizer said on Wednesday that Canada's health regulator has approved its gene therapy for the treatment of a rare inherited bleeding disorder called Hemophilia B ahead of a U.S. decision. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that Health Canada's approval was based on late-stage trials that showed a single dose of the therapy, to be sold under the brand name Beqvez, was superior to the current standard of care, which involves replacing a blood-clotting protein called factor IX. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had in November, 2022, approved CSL's Hemgenix, making it the first one-time gene therapy for Hemophilia B. CSL had acquired exclusive global rights to Hemgenix from uniQure NV in 2021. Pfizer is also seeking U.S. approval for its experimental antibody, marstacimab, to treat Hemophilia A and B. Hemophilia B is found in one in 40,000 people and represents about 15 per cent of patients with the disease, according to the FDA. The U.S. health regulator is expected to give its decision on Pfizer's therapy in the second quarter of 2024.