In a historic moment for gene editing, the U.S. late last year approved Casgevy, the first CRISPR-based therapy for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. One of the key figures behind the news was Emmanuelle Charpentier, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for co-discovering the gene-editing technique and co-founded CRISPR Therapeutics, which developed Casgevy with Vertex Pharmaceuticals. There’s no overestimating the impact of her work, with the possibilities for CRISPR technology continuing to expand. As Charpentier wrote to STAT in the wake of Casgevy’s approval: “This milestone certainly underscores the importance of fundamental research in the field of microbiology.”
Photo credit: Hallbauer & Fioretti
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