Lindsey Shapiro, PhD, science writer —

On Dec. 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two cell-based gene therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD), a groundbreaking decision that now offers patients more than one potentially curative option that targets the underlying cause of the disease. Bluebird Bio’s Lyfgenia (lovotibeglogene autotemcel) — formerly…

A European Medicines Agency committee has issued a positive opinion on the gene-editing therapy Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel) in treating sickle cell disease (SCD) and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TDT). The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommendation will be considered by the European Commission in making a final…

New regulatory decisions in the U.S. and the U.K. have made Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel) the first gene-editing therapy to be approved for adults and adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD) who experience painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs). With these recent approvals, the therapy from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and…

Note: This story was updated Dec. 12, 2023, to clarify that Lyfgenia treats vaso-occlusive events, including painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the gene-editing therapy exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) — now known as Casgevy — for treating sickle cell disease (SCD). The therapy…

Note: This story was updated Dec. 12, 2023, to clarify that Lyfgenia treats vaso-occlusive events (VOEs), including painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved lovotibeglogene autotemcel, a gene therapy from Bluebird Bio known as lovo-cel, for treating sickle cell disease (SCD) patients ages…

The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has conditionally approved the gene-editing therapy exa-cel (exagamglogene autotemcel), under the brand name Casgevy, for people with sickle cell disease (SCD) and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TDT). The authorization covers adults and children, ages 12 and older, with SCD and experiencing…

Researchers at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support a specialized education program for improving the care of people with sickle cell disease (SCD) in medically underserved areas of the U.S. Led by principal investigator Sara…

A scientist whose discoveries paved the way for the development of an investigational gene therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD) and other blood disorders has been awarded the third Elaine Redding Brinster Prize in Science or Medicine. Stuart Orkin, MD, received the award — given annually to a researcher…

Researchers have developed a new way of delivering gene-editing therapies for people with blood disorders such as sickle cell disease (SCD), which could improve treatment safety and lower costs if eventually adopted in the clinic. Instead of a standard method that requires a round of chemotherapy before externally-edited cells…

Researchers at Rice University in Texas have been awarded $2.6 million to further investigate questions surrounding the safety and efficacy of gene editing as a potentially curative treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD). The four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was awarded to Gang Bao, PhD,…