HOPE FOR DIABETES: CRISPR-EDITED CELLS PUMP OUT INSULIN IN A PERSON – AND EVADE IMMUNE DETECTION

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Sana Biotechnology, a firm in Seattle, Washington, has successfully implanted CRISPR-edited pancreas cells into a person with type 1 diabetes without the need for immune-dampening drugs. The cells, collected from a deceased donor, were able to produce insulin for months. Currently, the only way for someone with type 1 diabetes to avoid dependence on injected insulin is through the transplantation of cadaveric islet cells, but this requires lifelong immune-suppressing drug therapy. Sana's solution bypasses the need for those drugs entirely.