Close Menu
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

What's On

Summer Game Fest And Mario Kart World Reactions (Feat. Rogersbase) | GI Show

17 June 2025

Minnesota Shooting Suspect Allegedly Used Data Broker Sites to Find Targets’ Addresses

17 June 2025

Try This Free Version of Microsoft Office That Runs in Your Browser

17 June 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Just In
  • Summer Game Fest And Mario Kart World Reactions (Feat. Rogersbase) | GI Show
  • Minnesota Shooting Suspect Allegedly Used Data Broker Sites to Find Targets’ Addresses
  • Try This Free Version of Microsoft Office That Runs in Your Browser
  • iQOO Z10 Lite 5G: Launch Date, Expected Price in India, Specifications, Features and More
  • ‘Psyop’: How Far-Right Conspiracy Theories About the Minnesota Shooting Evolved to Protect MAGA
  • 9 Urgent Questions About Trump Mobile and the Gold T1 Smartphone
  • How Apple Created a Custom iPhone Camera for F1
  • The Best Organic Mattresses, Fully Vetted and Tested
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest Vimeo
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release
Subscribe
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
Home » Gene Editing Needs to Be for Everyone
News

Gene Editing Needs to Be for Everyone

News RoomBy News Room8 January 20243 Mins Read
Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit Telegram Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

At the end of 2023, we witnessed an important moment in the history of medicine: For the first time, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a therapy that uses Crispr gene editing. This new therapy was developed by Crispr Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals to treat sickle cell disease, an ailment caused by a single-letter mutation in the genetic code that has been long understood but was neglected by the research community for decades.

This is a major milestone for gene editing in medicine, and specifically for the sickle cell community, who have long awaited better treatment options. The outlook for this therapy is better than we could have hoped. Victoria Gray, one of the first patients in the US to receive the therapy in a clinical trial, is symptom-free four years later. Indeed, this may prove to be not just a therapy but a cure.

There are further Crispr-based therapies coming close on its heels, treating conditions such as high cholesterol, inflammatory disease, and chronic infections. But it’s not time for a victory lap for the field of gene-editing therapies: The race is just beginning.

Let me put this in context. When my colleagues and I published how Crispr could be used for genome editing in 2012, we could hardly have imagined that just 11 years later there would be an approved therapy in the US market. In the scheme of medical research, this timeline from paper to patient is incredibly fast. But “fast” depends on your perspective. Every week I get emails from people around the world who are hopeful that Crispr could help them, their children, their parents, their friends. Because Crispr can be easily adapted to target different regions of the genome, it gives new hope to people with rare and neglected genetic diseases. One therapy in 12 years is not fast enough if you are the one waiting.

The therapy for sickle cell disease is projected to cost over $2 million per patient, and only a small number of facilities in the US have the technological capability to provide it. We see a certain cycle over and over: The first wave of a new technology that hits the market is expensive and inaccessible to most people. Fifteen years ago, a smartphone was a luxury item; now 85 percent of the planet owns one. Similarly, laptop computers and tablets, once only for the wealthy, are now ubiquitous across the world.

But life-saving medicine cannot be treated as a luxury, and we cannot simply wait to let market forces drive prices down over time. In 2024, we will see more high-priced, first-wave therapies coming to market, but already researchers are looking to the second wave: therapies designed to be affordable and accessible. New technologies allowing in vivo delivery of gene-editing therapies and improved manufacturing will be key to driving prices down, as will unique partnerships between universities, government, and industry, brought together with affordability as a common goal. It is not enough to simply make the tools. We must ensure they reach those who need them most.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleCheck Out Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail’s New Job, Race, And Full-Length Cinematic Trailer
Next Article Hisense shows off massively bright 98- and 100-inch mini-LED TVs

Related Articles

News

Minnesota Shooting Suspect Allegedly Used Data Broker Sites to Find Targets’ Addresses

17 June 2025
News

Try This Free Version of Microsoft Office That Runs in Your Browser

17 June 2025
News

‘Psyop’: How Far-Right Conspiracy Theories About the Minnesota Shooting Evolved to Protect MAGA

17 June 2025
News

9 Urgent Questions About Trump Mobile and the Gold T1 Smartphone

17 June 2025
News

How Apple Created a Custom iPhone Camera for F1

17 June 2025
News

The Best Organic Mattresses, Fully Vetted and Tested

16 June 2025
Demo
Top Articles

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 202495 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views

5 laptops to buy instead of the M4 MacBook Pro

17 November 202466 Views

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Latest News
News

9 Urgent Questions About Trump Mobile and the Gold T1 Smartphone

News Room17 June 2025
News

How Apple Created a Custom iPhone Camera for F1

News Room17 June 2025
News

The Best Organic Mattresses, Fully Vetted and Tested

News Room16 June 2025
Most Popular

The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman

13 January 2025124 Views

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 202495 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views
Our Picks

iQOO Z10 Lite 5G: Launch Date, Expected Price in India, Specifications, Features and More

17 June 2025

‘Psyop’: How Far-Right Conspiracy Theories About the Minnesota Shooting Evolved to Protect MAGA

17 June 2025

9 Urgent Questions About Trump Mobile and the Gold T1 Smartphone

17 June 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
© 2025 Best in Technology. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.