Around 8000 people in the UK live with the condition, which affects movement, thinking and mood.
Wild said the patients who took part in the trial were now stable “in a way I’m not used to seeing in Huntington’s disease”.
“One of them is my only medically retired Huntington’s disease patient who has been able to go back to work,” he added.
Professor Mike Hanna, director of the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, hailed the results as a “new chapter in gene therapy development for Huntington’s disease” with “clear relevance” for other neurodegenerative disorders.
UniQure said it planned to submit an application to the US Food and Drug Administration early next year requesting accelerated approval to market the drug.