The latest developments in CAR - T translation and manufacturing including alternate gene transfer methods to deliver CARs; novel
gene editing approaches, advances in CAR design to improve safety and efficacy, and progress in creating an «off - the - shelf» allogeneic CAR - T therapy.
That's attached to the progress of sequencing technology, the ability to edit cells, and other
gene editing approaches have been transformative in the immunotherapy world in recent years.
Not exact matches
Well, one startup is seeking to take a very different
approach: Exonics Therapeutics, which has secured $ 5 million in seed funding from CureDuchenne Ventures to see if the revolutionary new CRISPR - Cas - 9
gene -
editing technology can be used to target the root genetic deficiency at the heart of the disease.
Meanwhile, Editas founder Feng Zhang is a leader in an entirely new
approach to battle disease that involves
editing genes.
«If this
approach works in humans, it will really change the conversation that providers have with patients,» Scadden said, especially for those «who have these underlying genetic disorders and for who the new
gene -
editing and
gene therapy techniques are being developed.»
Whether investigating fat cells, immunotherapy or use of the CRISPR - Cas 9
gene -
editing tool, which a federal panel recently approved for a select number of patients suffering from three types of cancers, including multiple myeloma,
approaches beyond attacking cancer cells are needed in the fight against many cancers.
Ultimately, this week's discourse will lead to a consensus statement providing some guidance on how to
approach using this and older
gene editing technologies such as zinc finger nucleases and enzymes called transcription activator - like effector nucleases, or TALENs.
Newly developed
approaches that use CRISPR / Cas9
gene editing technology can generate offspring that carry copies of the altered
gene on both chromosomes — a phenomenon called super-Mendelian inheritance that, in theory, should quickly convert an entire population.
As these
gene -
editing therapies continue to develop and start to
approach the clinic, it's important to make sure each therapy is going to be tailored to the patient that's going to be treated.»
The
approach hadn't seemed within close reach until geneticists last year demonstrated
gene drive in fruit flies and yeast by harnessing a
gene -
editing technique called CRISPR / Cas9.
To achieve
gene editing in mice with thalassemia, professor of therapeutic radiology and of genetics Peter M. Glazer, M.D. and his co-authors developed an alternative
approach using a novel combination of nanoparticles, synthetic pieces of DNA, and a simple IV injection.
«Cautious but proactive
approach to
gene editing urged by multiple organizations: Medical, research, and counseling groups issue statement on germline genome
editing.»
The track record of earlier
gene -
editing approaches suggests that the CRISPR companies pursuing medical therapies have a long road ahead.
«Body's own
gene editing system generates leukemia stem cells: Inhibiting the
editing enzyme may provide a new therapeutic
approach for blood cancers.»
They are now working toward human trials for the
gene -
editing approach.
In an effort to combine the respective advantages of the AAV and CRISPR - based
approaches, several groups have recently worked to enhance the efficiency of AAV - based
gene editing via the introduction of a double strand break by using a targeted nuclease.
Utilizing genetic
approaches such as «fine mapping» and «genome
editing,» the researchers narrowed the region of the chromosome and targeted each
gene to responsible for affecting the behavioral response to the drug.
This
approach has proved successful in disrupting multiple
genes simultaneously in neurons and in
editing the Dmdmdx mutation in muscle, thereby restoring dystrophin protein expression and partially alleviating the dystrophic muscles» functional deficiencies.
«CRISPR - based technologies have the potential to help solve many of society's most pressing problems, and Caribou's leadership in
gene editing places them at the forefront of applying these new
approaches.
Projects also address potential
approaches to therapeutic genome
editing, as well as epigenetic modifications to control
gene expression.
Genomic engineering as a promising cancer therapeutic
approach has experienced a tremendous surge since the discovery of the adaptive bacterial immune defense system «CRISPR» and its potential as a
gene editing tool over a decade ago.
Unlike other CRISPR techniques that focus on
editing a troublesome
gene, this modified
approach focuses on repressing the
gene.
This is the main focus of
gene editing in HD research, and CRISPR - Cas9 is one of several
approaches.
Their
approach is novel because
gene edits could be «personalized» depending on an individual's DNA.
But the study shows that
editing these
genes could be a rapid
approach for developing new, early yield varieties that can be fine - tuned for productivity at specific latitudes.
Using mutated versions of the lamin A
gene as an example to demonstrate the versatility of their virus - based
approach, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies successfully
edited a diseased
gene in patient - specific induced pluripotent stem cells as well as adult stem cells.
Conversely,
gene editing using CRISPR - Cas9 creates a permanent change to the DNA, and therefore must be
approached with even more caution.
However, he adds that he remains totally committed to this general
approach of using human
gene editing to study human cancer
genes in human cancer cells themselves.
«The
Gene Editing Institute exists within a community hospital system where we are committed to a patient - first
approach to biomedical research.