The Swiss Have Started Editing Genes To Cure People

A Swiss startup has started using CRISPR to heal people suffering from beta-thalassemia – a genetic blood disease.

• Be also sure to check out my other posts and follow me @kralizec and subscribe to my Youtube channel at Kralizec Gaming Youtube Channel

For the first time ever, a company in Europe or in the Western world for that case used CRISPR to treat someone. This is a big deal, for both science and medicine. And very likely, this is only the beginning. There is a good chance that soon we will see more clinics, more companies using CRISPR as a tool to completely change the face of medicine healing patients with previously hard to treat or even untreatable diseases.

When it comes to beta thalassemia, this disease happens because of a mutation of a gene that helps with the creation of hemoglobin. The CRISPR therapy leverages the fact that each of us has two copies of this gene but the second copy is turned of. So, the scientists decided to turn the second copy on. First, they took some cells from the patient’s bone marrow, used CRISPR to edit its DNA and then returned the cells back.

The only problem right now is the fact that we aren’t sure whether it worked. 45 people are part of the clinical study but for the moment only two have been treated and we are waiting for the results. The rest will have to wait.

Sources:

• https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/02/25/1741524/0/en/CRISPR-Therapeutics-and-Vertex-Announce-Progress-in-Clinical-Development-Programs-for-the-Investigational-CRISPR-Cas9-Gene-Editing-Therapy-CTX001.html
• https://www.vrtx.com

---

• If you like the content I’m producing about science maybe you will like the content I produce about gaming as well! Be sure to check out my other posts!