The History Of CRISPR-CAS9 Gene Editing Tool

By Erin Harris, Editor-In-Chief, Cell & Gene
Follow Me On Twitter @ErinHarris_1

The introduction of the CRISPR technology and the ability to grow stem cells in the lab have been among the most important breakthroughs in the scientific world. CRISPR-engineered stem cell therapies have made tremendous advancements in the past 5 years, but challenges still exist.

To learn more about CRISPR gene editing, I sat down with Sadik Kassim, Chief Technical Officer at Vor Biopharma to discuss the benefits of CRISPR-engineered stem cell therapies, the challenges and feasible solutions, what’s next, and more. You can view our full-length discussion here. For your reference, we’ve also divided our conversation question by question. Here’s the history of CRISPR-CAS9 gene editing tool.

What You’re About to Watch:

The concept of gene editing has been around for decades. CRISPR-CAS9 is a gene editing tool. If we look at gene editing tools, they have been around for quite some time. CRISPR is the most recent iteration of gene editing tools, and it has enabled in a very flexible and cost-efficient manner to edit the genome.

Why This Matters:

Since 2012, there has been a tremendous amount of progress in proof of concept to therapeutic applications. There are least 42 different trials and potential trials that evaluate the application of CRISPR gene editing within the context of therapeutic clinical applications, and the emerging data is promising.