The MIT Technology Review reported that a team of researchers from VerveTherapeutics injected a gene-editing serum into a live patient's liver with the goal of lowering their cholesterol, a landmark moment in the history of gene editing that could potentially save millions from cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.
A patient in New Zealand received the injection called VERVE 101. Hopeful results have been achieved from early experiments on monkeys.
The company claims that these genetic edits will be able to permanently lower levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol.
Other interventions such as hard-to- follow diet, exercise, and other prescribed medicine have only been able to make a small dent in low density lipoproteins levels. According to MIT Tech, insurers refuse to pay for many drugs due to their high prices.
"VERVE 101 is a first-in-class gene editing medicine that we have designed to make a single spelling change in liver DNA to permanently turn off a disease-causing gene," said Sekar Kathiresan, founder of VerveTherapeutics.
"If this works and is safe, this is the answer to a heart attack," he said.
It is the first time a technique called base editing has been used in humans.
High cholesterol is a common problem in the population.
Eric Topol, who was not involved in the research, told the publication that this one could have the most profound impact because of the number of people who would benefit.
Verve is hoping to enroll around 40 adult patients with HefH to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the injection.
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