immune cells

First Human Injected with Controversial Genetically Modified Genes

For the first time in history, a human has been injected with genes edited using the CRISPR-Cas9 method. [1]
The experiment took place on 28 October 2016, when a team of Chinese scientists, led by oncologist Lu You at Sichuan University in Chengdu, delivered the genetically modified (GM) cells into a patient with aggressive lung cancer as part of a clinical trial at the West China Hospital in Chengdu. [2]
To protect the patient’s privacy, the details of the trial have not been released; but Lu said the trial “went smoothly.”

Cancer Study Halted After 3 People Die

U.S. regulators in July of 2016 halted a trial of Juno Therapeutics Inc.’s experimental cancer therapy, known as JCAR015, after three patients died.
JCAR015 uses genetically engineered cells as a treatment for cancer. However, one of the pursuits in oncology was temporarily halted by the FDA when some of the participants developed fatal swelling in the brain.
Hans Bishop, Juno’s chief executive, said in a conference call with securities analysts that the deaths were “difficult and humbling for everyone involved.”