US university treats cancer patients with CRISPR
The University of Pennsylvania has treated two cancer patients with CRISPR/Cas 9, a gene-editing technology that allows precise modifications to DNA.
Both patients, one with multiple myeloma and one with sarcoma, received CRISPR treatments after they relapsed following standard treatment.
Funding for the trial, which is currently underway at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, is provided by Sean Parker’s Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and private firm Tmunity Therapeutics.
“Findings from this research study will be shared at an appropriate time via medical meeting presentation or peer-reviewed publication,” said a spokesperson for the university.
Last year, scientists urged policymakers to implement a regulatory framework governing the use of CRISPR technology in humans, following reports that a Chinese scientist has successfully created ‘edited’ twins.
The Chinese team, led by He Jiankui and based at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, had planned to eliminate a gene called CCR5 with the aim of making the baby resistant to HIV, smallpox, and cholera.
LSIPR had previously noted that a report identified China as one of the first locations to allow the editing of human embryos using CRISPR technology.
By February 2018, the country had registered nine clinical trials based on CRISPR-edited cells in the context of diseases like cancer and HIV.
In comparison, the US had registered only one trial, with the Food and Drug Administration only lifting its hold on the first US-based human CRISPR trial in October 2018.
Earlier this year, World Health Organization experts called for a central registry on human genome editing research, among a committee consensus that it would be irresponsible for any scientist to conduct gene-editing studies in people
Over the next two years, the committee will consult with stakeholders and provide recommendations for a comprehensive governance framework.
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