The United States approves the first treatment with genetic edition using CRISPR technology

Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, this treatment means an important commitment to tackling sickle cell anaemia, a genetic disease causing the deformation of red blood cells that affects almost six and a half million people all over the world. 

The American Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has already approved this complex process that includes the extraction of blood stem cells to genetically modify them using CRISPR technology to cancel the genetic defect that causes the disease.

The treatment, which has also been approved in the United Kingdom, is called Casgevy and it may be administered to adults and children from the age of 12 years with frequent pain. The therapy has been designed to be administered just once and it is estimated that the results will last for many years.