Dec 5, 2019

HIV-positive babies could benefit from treatment days after birth

Marisa Fernandez

Antiretroviral drugs, administered within days of birth, appeared to bring HIV in newborns down to undetectable levels.

Why it matters: About 500 babies in sub-Saharan Africa are born with HIV every day, NPR reports. Though these early-treated children are not cured yet, researchers' recent study published in Science Translational Medicine shows encouraging results from a clinical trial in Botswana.

"It's likely that we may have set them up for the possibility of long-term remission of their HIV."
— Daniel Kuritzkes, co-author of the study, told NPR

Previous trials have given babies an antiretroviral therapy months after birth, which left about 200 times more of the virus in their blood.

  • Arguments have been made that the drugs are too powerful for newborns.
  • Doctors are still pushing for more clinical evidence that the treatment can be safe and more effective than delaying treatment.

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Orion Rummler

Report: Huge oversights in Chinese scientist's gene-edited babies attempt

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Visuals

MIT Technology Review released excerpts of Chinese scientist He Jiankui's unpublished research on Tuesday, underscoring massive ethical and practical oversights in his claim that he successfully used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to create genetically engineered children.

The bottom line: A primary goal of the experiment was to test if cells could be gene-edited to become HIV resistant. This could have been done without creating human test subjects, MIT notes.

Go deeperArrowDec 4, 2019
Caitlin Owens

CRISPR-based gene editing treatments benefit patients with blood disorders

A researcher observes a CRISPR/Cas9 process through a stereomicroscope. Photo: Gregor Fischer/picture alliance via Getty Images

The first two patients to receive CRISPR-based treatments for their blood disorders benefited from the therapy, the two companies developing the treatment announced yesterday — a sign that gene editing may be a safe and effective way to cure blood diseases, STAT reports.

Why it matters: The two blood disorders, sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, can have a drastic impact on patients' lives. A cure would be transformative.

Go deeperArrowNov 20, 2019
Caitlin Owens

China is racing into CAR-T development

A lab technician prepares to thawing blood bag before genetically modifying a patients immune cells. Photo: Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images

China's aggressive focus on prescription drugs includes developing its own version of CAR-T, one of the most ambitious therapies on the market, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: Chinese scientists are attempting to develop CAR-T therapies — which genetically engineer a patient's own immune cells to destroy cancer cells — much faster and with a much cheaper price tag than those in the U.S.

Go deeperArrowDec 11, 2019