U.S. regulators asked Sarepta Therapeutics on Friday to voluntarily halt shipments of its Elevidys gene therapy after a muscular dystrophy patient who received a different, experimental treatment died,

The Food and Drug Administration plans to ask Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. to pause shipments of its Elevidys treatment after three deaths were linked to the company’s gene therapies, according to a person familiar with the matter.

When three patients die after taking a cutting-edge drug, most companies hit the brakes. Not Sarepta Therapeutics. The Massachusetts-based biotech company is under fire for refusing a request from the U.