- Gene-editing technology CRISPR is being tested in disease settings where vaccines are currently not effective
- Although years away from market, early data shows promise
Vaccines work by jump-starting the immune system’s B-Cells to manufacture specific antigens, our body’s defense mechanisms against particular viruses.
Naturally, the body’s immune system will manufacture B-cells when there is a foreign virus that comes from a vaccine or natural infection. Once the body realizes the foreign virus, it produces the virus-matching antigen that can destroy the invader.
An issue arises when the foreign virus has DNA that the body cannot replicate or when the DNA is constantly changing. This is because the B-cells cannot manufacture the required antigen needed to fight the foreign virus. As a result, vaccines are limited or ineffective in people with compromised immune systems (old people), or when someone catches a viral disease that has no vaccine antigen. Examples here are viral diseases and the flu.
Scientists are now testing CRSIPR, a gene-editing technology, in the hopes of turning the immune system against viruses for which there are no vaccines. B-Cells are being engineered to program the defense mechanism to produce and keep producing whichever antibody is needed to fight the foreign virus.
In simple term, CRISPR is being used to nudge B-cells to produce the right antibody needed to fight the disease. The hope is that CRISPR could edit B cells that could produce immunity against diseases where traditional vaccinations fail. CRISPR may be able to manufacture a better equipped B-cell capable of fighting off diseases better than traditional vaccines.
However, there are hurdles that must be overcome. For starters, CRISPR will not replace traditional vaccines due to the high costs. CRISPR is used to modify patients’ B-cells individually (patient by patient). A “mass manufacturing” CRISPR approach would be rejected by our immune system. This makes vaccines, by comparison, are cheap. Secondly, the approach will have to be tested in human clinical trials for years before being commercial. The probability of failure in these clinical trials is high.
Three companies developing CRISPR and gene editing technologies are:
- CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRISPR)
- Sangamo (NASDAQ:SGMO)
- Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT)
Article By: Fatimah Aminu
Fatimah is an experienced editor at various financial and consumer publishing houses. She obtained a master’s degree in Publishing from NYU, where she earned a bachelor of fine arts degree. She is currently earning a second masters degree at CUNY online in Psychology. Fatimah covers healthcare, cannabis and technology.