A cure for sickle cell disease uses CRISPR-based gene editing technology.

So what comes next?

10 years from now, how many more diseases will CRISPR have cured?

It's Wednesday, February 7th, and you guessed it, it's still Science Friday.

I'm Cy Fry producer Shishonabuxbaum. In December, the FDA approved a new treatment for sickle cell disease, the first medical therapy to use

CRISPR gene editing technology. Now two pharmaceutical companies are offering therapies

using gene editing technology, and they promise a lifelong cure which would be life

changing for patients with this debilitating condition.

Over a hundred thousand Americans have sickle cell disease, most of whom are of African descent.

Could this breakthrough herald a new era of CRISPR-based cures for genetic diseases?

Ira Fleto takes it from here.

Joining me now to answer that question and more is my guest. Dr. Fia de

Urnov, professor molecular and cell biology, scientific director of

technology and translation at the Innovative Genomics Institute,

that's at the University of California, Berkeley.

Welcome back to Science Friday.

Ira, what a joyful moment for me to join you again.

Thank you for having me.

You're welcome.

Thank you for joining us.

Okay, for those of us who are not so familiar with CRISPR, what is CRISPR gene editing? How is it used to treat

Sickle Cell? Well, starting now, you and I can call CRISPR as a tool that cures sickle cell disease. And that's a remarkable statement.

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