The First Crispr Treatment Is Making Its Way to Patients

Nearly a year after its approval, the first medical treatment that uses the Nobel Prize–winning technology Crispr is now being given to patients. Called Casgevy, the gene-editing treatment is for people with sickle cell disease and a related blood disorder called beta thalassemia. “Cagevy has been enthusiastically received by patients, physicians, and policymakers, and the launch is gathering momentum across all regions,” Stuart Arbuckle, Vertex’s chief operating officer, said on the earnings call. In sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, patients don’t produce healthy hemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen throughout the body. On last week’s earnings call, Arbuckle said 45 treatment centers are now authorized to administer Casgevy, and Vertex expects that number to grow to approximately 75 around the world.