First human clinical trial using CRISPR will modify T cells to destroy cancer

06/22/2016 - 02:47

Antonio Regalado


The first proposed test of CRISPR gene-editing technology in human beings is being funded by Internet billionaire Sean Parker, MIT Technology Review has learned.

The novel cancer treatment, initially disclosed last week, is being reviewed Tuesday by a federal advisory panel in Washington, D.C., and could become the first clinical trial involving CRISPR, the red-hot gene modification technology.

Now we can report that Parker, a 36-year-old whose net worth is estimated at $2.4 billion, is financing the study.

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