- In a presentation at the 2nd International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong, Chinese researcher He Jiankui said he was "proud" of his achievement and disclosed that a second pregnancy may be on the way.
- Eight couples undergoing fertility treatments initially enrolled in the trial, but one dropped out. 30 embryos from the remaining seven couples were created and 21 (70%) were edited using CRISPR/Cas9 to knock out the HIV-related gene CCR5.
- Cord blood from the twin girls, born about a month ago, showed no off-target effects from the gene editing. Both will be followed for 18 years to check for off-target mutations, resistance to HIV and any other potential side effects.
- He admitted that disabling the CCR5 gene, which is involved immunity, could make the girls more susceptible to infectious diseases but the parents were still in favor of the procedure after being informed of the risks. The father is HIV-positive.
- Related tickers: (EDIT +2.6%)(CRSP +3.7%)(NTLA +4.1%)
- Previously: CRISPR Therapeutics up 4% premarket reported use of CRISPR/Cas9 in humans (Nov. 26)
- Now read: Nektar Currently Misunderstood
Original article