The interplay between CRISPR and the Biotech Directive

Current understandings of gene-editing are that the proper or most likely fruitful and efficient approach concerns ‘correcting’ cells which, in turn, means editing their genetic codes in some respects. The most obvious strategy for gene-editing is to target totipotent cells, ie, those cells which remain differentiated as part of the development process or, more colloquially, the building blocks. Totipotent cells can be found in embryos and are often known as embryonic stem cells. The use and exploitation of such cells is regulated to some degree as far as human embryonic cells are concerned.