Federal Oversight Group Has Complaints But Says Yes To CRISPR Trial
By Alex Lash,
Xconomy
| 06. 21. 2016
Despite worries about conflict of interest, a National Institutes of Health committee that oversees the use of gene therapy and other cutting edge biomedical technologies voted today to let researchers move ahead with a landmark clinical trial. Depending on timing, it could be the first to use the gene editing system CRISPR-Cas9 in a human treatment.
There are still hurdles. The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine team, led by high profile cancer researcher Carl June and funded by billionaire Sean Parker’s new cancer institute, must get a green light from the FDA, according to NIH regulations. It’s not clear when Penn hopes to start a trial, which would be small and designed to evaluate the safety of an experimental treatment for several types of cancer.
[Updated with Penn Medicine statement.] In response to questions about the conflict of interest and a timeline for the trial, a spokeswoman emailed a statement that said Penn Medicine “was pleased” by the vote and looks forward to presenting the trial for FDA review. It did not address the conflict or...
Related Articles
By Matthew Ormseth and Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times | 10.02.2025
The father of some 22 children discovered by Arcadia police in May also owns a property in El Monte where authorities found evidence of illegal gambling and drug activity, court records show.
Guojun Xuan, 65, told detectives all but two...
By Katherine Bourzac, Nature | 09.25.2025
A judge in New York rejected a request on 23 September to disqualify the use of cutting-edge DNA sequencing as evidence in a case against an alleged serial killer. The ruling paves the way for a type of DNA analysis...
By Emma McDonald Kennedy
| 09.25.2025
In the leadup to the 2024 election, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to make IVF more accessible. He made the commitment central to his campaign, even referring to himself as the “father of IVF.” In his first month in office, Trump issued an executive order promising to expand IVF access. The order set a 90-day deadline for policy recommendations for “lowering costs and reducing barriers to IVF,” although it didn’t make any substantive reproductive healthcare policy changes.
The response to the...
By Jacob Bogage, The Washington Post | 09.03.2025
The conservative group behind the Project 2025 governing playbook for President Donald Trump’s second term is set to propose sweeping revisions to U.S. economic policy meant to encourage married heterosexual couples to have more children.
The Heritage Foundation, a right-wing...