The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the nod for Excision BioTherapeutics to begin trials testing CRISPR gene editing as a treatment for HIV.
EBT-101 will be a first-in-human, CRISPR-based one-time gene therapy to be evaluated in individuals with HIV.
“Although antiviral treatments can manage HIV infection, they require life-long treatment, cause side effects, and do not provide the possibility of a functional cure. We are grateful for the FDA’s engaged review and acceptance of the IND for EBT-101 and look forward to initiating the Phase I/II clinical trial later this year,” [said CEO Daniel Dornbusch.]
EBT-101 uses CRISPR to cut out or excise HIV that has wrapped around the DNA in cells. It has been HIV’s ability to coil itself into DNA that has made it so difficult to treat and largely the reason that past curative efforts have fallen flat.
