New Delhi, Nov. 20 -- India has announced its first indigenous CRISPR-based gene therapy for sickle cell disease, a severe hereditary blood disorder that disproportionately affects tribal populations.
The treatment, named BIRSA 101, was launched by union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh at the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) in Delhi on Wednesday.
The breakthrough marks the country's entry into advanced gene-editing therapeutics, an area so far dominated by a handful of global companies. Existing gene therapies abroad can cost more than Rs 20 crore, putting them out of reach for most patients. The minister claimed the indigenous platform can slash costs significantly, though he did not specify an es...