FDA approves Voceryq, the first DNA-based treatment for a rare throat disease
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Voceryq, a new treatment for adults with a rare throat condition in which growths keep coming back in the airways. The approval was announced on Friday, 30 October 2026.
Voceryq is for people with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, often shortened to RRP. It causes wart-like growths in the throat and airways. The growths are not cancerous, but they often return and can make it hard to speak and breathe. They are usually caused by two types of human papillomavirus, HPV 6 and HPV 11.
Until now, the main treatment has been surgery to remove the growths, and many patients need several operations a year. Voceryq works differently: it is a DNA-based immunotherapy that trains the immune system to fight the virus behind the growths, so surgery is needed less often.
It is the first plasmid DNA-based immunotherapy approved in the United States, and the first approved product for its maker, Inovio Pharmaceuticals. The approval was granted under the FDA’s accelerated approval route, which allows a treatment to reach patients sooner while more evidence is still gathered.
The decision was based on a small study of 32 adults who had each had at least two operations in the previous year. In the main group of 26 patients, seven people — 27 per cent — needed no surgery in the 12 months after treatment. The study had no comparison group. Common side effects included injection-site reactions, headache, tiredness and nausea.
Why it matters
For people living with RRP, the approval offers a real change. Instead of repeated operations, a treatment that targets the cause of the growths could mean fewer surgeries, fewer hospital visits and less risk to the voice.
It also matters beyond this one disease. Voceryq is the first DNA medicine of its kind approved in the United States, which may open the door for similar DNA-based treatments for other conditions.
What happens next
Inovio said it expects Voceryq to be available to order and ship within about 60 days, with a full launch planned for the first quarter of 2027.
Because the approval was accelerated, it is not yet final in the usual sense. Inovio must run a larger study to prove the treatment’s benefit, and continued approval may depend on those results.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
Sources
- https://srnnews.com/us-fda-approves-inovios-treatment-for-rare-throat-disease/ (Reuters via SRN News, 30 October 2026)
- https://www.hcplive.com/view/voceryq-gains-fda-accelerated-approval-for-recurrent-respiratory-papillomatosis (HCPLive, 30 October 2026)
- https://www.wcia.com/business/press-releases/cision/20261030PH86090/inovio-announces-fda-accelerated-approval-of-voceryq-an-immunotherapy-to-reduce-the-frequency-of-surgery-in-adults-with-recurrent-respiratory-papillomatosis-rrp/ (Inovio Pharmaceuticals, 30 October 2026)
