FDA Approves World’s First Crispr Gene-Editing Drug for Sickle-Cell Disease
www.wsj.com
The U.S. has approved the world’s first medicine employing Crispr technology, a Nobel Prize-winning discovery that promised a powerful new tool to treat disease.

The key thing about this kind of therapy is that it’s not a drug you keep on taking - it’s a one-time thing which permanently cures the disease.

  • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    29·
    11 months ago

    Never thought I read a headline like that in my lifetime

    Can’t wait to see the Wikipedia article go from "Sickle Cell Disease is… to "Sickle Cell Disease was… "

  • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    11·
    11 months ago

    I hope it isn’t outrageously expensive. This has the potential to be incredibly beneficial, but not if it’s kept to only people who can shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars.

    • silence7@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
      10·
      11 months ago

      The pricing is higher than you’re describing - about 2 million dollars, which is still cheaper than paying for ongiong treatment over the course of a person’s life.

      It’s priced to be attractive to corporate-sponsored insurance plans, not for individuals to pay out of pocket.

      • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        61·
        11 months ago

        But the corporate sponsored insurance plans still need to be payed for somehow, usually as a deduction in what the company would pay since they can advertise better benefits. My friend’s family has sickle cell, but I guess this won’t help them since he’s a car salesman.

        • silence7@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
          6·
          11 months ago

          The insurer pays for it by not having to cover the expense of treating the disease anymore. It’s an incredibly expensive disease to manage as a chronic condition. People who have sickle cell are going to have to have budgeted money to cough up their yearly deductible in any case. (Skipping out on paying medical bills is also a possibility)

          And yes, I agree that not everybody will get treatment quickly because of the high cost.

        • threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          31·
          11 months ago

          payed

          I think the word you’re looking for is “paid”. “Payed” is something to do with sailors and ropes or something.

          I am not a bot and this action was performed manually.

    • Dem Bosain@midwest.socialEnglish
      5·
      11 months ago

      It’s very expensive, but it’s also a very intensive treatment. As I understand, they harvest stem cells, and those are modified with CRISPR. Meanwhile, they give the patient chemo-therapy to destroy all the bone-marrow. Then the modified stem-cells are placed in the body to regenerate the bone marrow.

      I’m not educated to understand any of this, so hopefully someone can expand.

  • Geek_King@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    11 months ago

    Is there information out there on what other type of genetic issues are being looked at to be cured by this type of approach?