China Surprises With First CRISPR Trial Despite Regulatory Lag, Concerns

The lack of a comprehensive regulatory pathway has not hindered Chinese researchers from forging ahead with the world's first human clinical study using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology, which will be used to treat advanced lung cancer.

CRISPR_Diagram_1200

Oncologists at Huaxi Hospital in China’s eastern Sichuan province are preparing to start what appears to be the world’s first human clinical trial using the gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas9, to treat patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Led by Lu You, the head of the hospital’s lung cancer division, the study has obtained ethics committee clearance and will start in August in 15 patients with metastatic NSCLC who have failed previous chemotherapy,

More from R&D

More from Scrip