Gene editing was the focus of the keynote session”A new era for medicine: digital diagnostics and therapies” by Dr. Tamara Sunbul, Medical Director of Clinical Informatics at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare.
“In the future, we will be doing genotyping over time,” she stated. “We’re going to rely on data and collect that data over time.”
With the way doctors prescribe medications today, there can be variations in outcomes.
“Sometimes (when) you give two people the same medication, they may respond differently… That’s why we need digital technology (like gene editing) to detect abnormalities,” Dr Sunbul opined.
The latest in gene editing is CRISPR-Cas9, which works like scissors. It precisely cuts a DNA sequence at a specific location and removes or inserts gene sequences that change the DNA base.
Besides agriculture and bioenergy, CRISPR also holds promise in the field of digital diagnostics and therapeutics, Dr. Sunbul said.
Examples of gene editing in digital diagnostics include the latest SHERLOCK and DETECTR methods for rapid detection of infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Gene editing can also be incorporated into the drug discovery process, as Atomwise, Deep Genomics and Valo are currently doing.
Gene editing also helps advance cell and gene therapies for several conditions, including:
blood disorders (thalassemia, sickle cell disease and haemophilia), Down syndrome, hereditary blindness, cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease.
Through CRISPR, it is now possible to reprogram a patient’s immune system to target their own cancer, infections (such as HIV, COVID-19, flu, malaria, Zika, antibiotic resistance) and chronic diseases (such as hypercholesterolemia and type 1 diabetes). ).
While gene editing is certainly advancing these areas of health, there are still ethical, legal and scientific factors to consider.
“Many problems and instabilities can occur. One wrong cut in the wrong direction can just mean the end (for someone),” said Dr. Sunbul.
“What we do now will not only affect that person, but also the future generation. This will last for generations,” she added, regarding the irreversible changes genetic editing can cause.