NIH to Decide the Fate of Revolutionary Gene Editing Technology

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NIH to Decide the Fate of Revolutionary Gene
Editing Technology
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• National Institutes of Health (NIH)s Recombinant
  DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) will review the
  decision of using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology for
  the first-in-human use for gene editing.

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• The Federal Advisory Committee will review the
  proposal for test of CRISPR /Cas9 technology on
  humans on 21st and 22nd June, 2016.

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• The committee is set up to calculate the
  potential risk factor of this technology, as the
  modified T cells can skip the regular checks and
  bypass that prevent immune system from attacking
  ones own tissue.

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• CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short
  palindromic repeats) technology is a popular gene
  editing tool. It is based on a bacterial
  CRISPR-associated protein-9 nuclease (Cas9) from
  Streptococcus pyogenes.

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• It was first observed in bacterial community. The
  video below explains the CRISPR /Cas9 technology
  in detail (Video credit McGovern Institute for
  Brain Research at MIT).

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• Future plans of many researchers in renowned
  Universities as well as high profile biotech
  companies depend upon the approval of the review.

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• One of such proposals will be of University of
  Pennsylvania, where researchers will start their
  studies of this genome editing technology on
  humans specifically targeting two genes in the T
  cells which they aim to edit by using CRISPR.

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• The T cells will be modified and enabled by the
  CRISPR technology to encounter the myeloma,
  melanoma and sarcomas tumor cells. University of
  Pennsylvania was also a contributor to a pioneer
  reformed blood cancer treatment where the
  patients blood cells were genetically altered
  and refused in blood stream to identify and
  eliminate the cancer cells.

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• Usually pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to
  use such novel technologies without trying and
  testing but CRISPR/Cas9 is an exception to it. As
  many upstart companies as well as high profile
  biotech companies are interested in this
  reliable, efficient and cheap technique.

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• In short, CRISPR is a powerful gene editing
  therapy used to cut and paste genes swiftly,
  precisely and rapidly. Cambridge based
  therapeutic company Editas Medicine are
  planning to use this technology for a certain
  rare eye disease and will start their trial
  somewhere around in 2017.

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• Several other companies also intend to capitalize
  on this technique if the green signal is given.
  Crispr Therapeutics, Caribou Biosciences (and
  spinoff Intellia Therapeutics) are gearing up to
  invest in this emerging technology. 

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• A lot is at stake for the researchers as well as
  the investors on the decision of the panel. The
  future of medicine and various treatments lies in
  the upcoming review. But the technique does come
  with its own pros and cons.

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