BEAM - Intellia CEO: Breakthrough gene-editing technology can be 'very very successful' in certain diseases

koto_feja/iStock via Getty Images John Leonard, president and CEO of Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), said Thursday that the technology used for the breakthrough gene-editing results it announced earlier in the week can be "very, very successful" for other diseases. Speaking to CNBC, Leonard said the stumbling block for the technology would be the cause of the particular ailment and whether the gene-editing process can easily reach the particular tissues affected. Last weekend, Intellia released interim data of an experimental treatment using CRISPR gene-editing techniques inside the human body. During the phase 1 trial, the process successfully edited cells inside a patient's liver, leading to therapeutic benefits. Leonard said that while they started with the liver, other tissues could be targeted with the same technique. He specified bone marrow as the likely next target. The Intellia CEO noted that these therapies would work best on diseases caused by one gene. So-called polygenic

For further details see:

Intellia CEO: Breakthrough gene-editing technology can be 'very, very successful' in certain diseases