CRISPR Medicine Insider, 1 May 2020 | CRISPR Clinical Trials | New Research and more - CRISPR Medicine

What matters in CRISPR medicine!

Greetings. There have been some remarkable developments in the CRISPR genome editing and gene therapy fields, and we got You covered!

Here is what we have been writing

CRISPR gene therapy trials demonstrate safety
Two similar CRISPR gene therapy studies were published in high impact peer-reviewed journals. Both studies investigate CRISPR-Cas9-edited T cells as a treatment for cancer, and both studies report the gene therapy to be feasible and safe. Now, the stage is set for the next significant advances in cancer treatment.

Reversing diabetes with CRISPR and patient stem cells
A rare genetic form of diabetes has been reversed in mice. Researchers use CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to correct a diabetes-causing mutation in stem cells derived from patients. Then they show the edited stem cells can reverse severe diabetes in mice.

Breaking the PAM Barrier
In an exciting research breakthrough, Ben Kleinstiver and colleagues at Harvard have engineered novel Cas9 variants that can target the entire human genome. It paves the way for research and clinical trials using genome editing in sites that used to be completely inaccessible.

CRISPR as a bacteria killer
In a world's first, Locus Biosciences has enrolled the first patients in a clinical trial using bacteriophage boosted with CRISPR to cure urinary tract infections. The completely new antibacterial principle for curing disease comes as multi-drug resistance is on the rise.

Curing cystic fibrosis with CRISPR, stem cells and mini-organs
Dutch scientist Hans Clevers and colleagues from Utrecht have used CRISPR base editors to cure cystic fibrosis in mini-organs derived from patient stem cells. Encouragingly no off-target effects were found, and the gene therapy may be safe to use for repairing damaged tissue.

Better CRISPR overview

We also added overviews and explainers

  • 2020 CRISPR Clinical Trials overview. We have compiled a comprehensive list of all the gene-editing clinical studies currently registered in the US, China and Europe. Read about the trends in CRISPR gene editing in our companion piece.
  • The family is much larger than Cas9. We highlight the Cas endonucleases that are currently in focus for therapeutic applications, including some of the not so well-known cousins such as Cas3 and Cas12d.

More good reads

Top picks

Want even more good reads? Find them in our latest Missing Links.

And one more thing - we are growing!

We are happy to say that Science Writer and Editor Karen O'Hanlon Cohrt and Scientific Assistant Iro Efthymia Pappa have joined us and will bring You more and even better content!

Meet our team in the About section.

And that's it

Thank You for now - more great reads are on the way.

And if you have questions or suggestions, you can directly reach us at editor@crisprmedicinenews.com. We love hearing from readers!

(c; Rasmus

 

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