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Wednesday, September 3, 2025
TopicGene therapy

Topic: gene therapy

India approves Zolgensma, one of world’s costliest drugs. Why it’s sparked hope, but also concern

Zolgensma is the only drug that promises a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, provided it is administered to affected children before the symptoms appear.

It’s official: New object zipping through our solar system is the 3rd known interstellar visitor

ScientiFix, our weekly feature, offers you a summary of the top global science stories of the week, with links to their sources.

AI-enabled DNA ‘switches’ can now control gene functions in tissues, organs

ScientiFix, our weekly feature, offers you a summary of the top global science stories of the week, with links to their sources.

A lethal fungus has wiped out bats in some US counties & it led to increased infant deaths

ScientiFix, our weekly feature, offers you a summary of the top global science stories of the week, with links to their sources.

‘Genetic scissors’ — India using same tech to find sickle cell cure as gene therapy approved by US FDA

FDA-approved Casgevy & Lyfgenia made from patients’ blood stem cells which are modified and given back as single-dose infusion. India ‘in preclinical stage’ of trial of similar therapy.

Cure for sickle cell disease on the horizon? US drug regulator is reviewing 2 new gene therapies

FDA is scheduled to review gene therapies from two American companies — Vertex Pharmaceuticals & Bluebird Bio Inc. If approved, therapies could mean a breakthrough for curing SCD.

Tweak norms on ‘biosimilars’ to make new life-saving drugs cheaper — patient rights groups to govt

Biosimilars are generic equivalents of biologic drugs, a new class of medicines that include therapeutics based on large molecules, such as monoclonal antibodies & gene therapies.

New hope for HIV cure: Dual gene editing ‘eliminates’ infection, targets protein that helps virus enter body

US study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Therapy administered to mice engrafted with human T cells resulted in suppression of virus & elimination of HIV-1.

IIT Kanpur signs MoU with Reliance Life Sciences, hopes to ‘revolutionise’ gene therapy

Developed by professor Jayandharan Giridhara Rao and Shubham Maurya of IIT Kanpur, the licensed technology replaces faulty gene with functional version to treat genetic eye diseases.

New US-approved gene therapy for Haemophilia B world’s most expensive drug — $3.5 mn per dose

Hemgenix, manufactured by Australia's CSL Behring, is a one-time therapy, given through a single dose of IV infusion & was approved by US Food and Drug Administration this week.

On Camera

On Arundhati Roy, mother-daughter conflicts, and the burden of being a ‘good mother’

When reading the book, one can see Roy’s mother as a 'fascist government' unto herself, the centre of her own cult. In Arundhati’s words, Mary Roy was ‘mother guru’.

A Rs 33,000 cr ‘banking fraud’: ED’s case against Arvind Dham, Amtek’s web of ‘500 shell companies’

ED has accused Amtek promoter Arvind Dham of controlling web of nearly 500 shell companies operating as a layered structure, with up to 15 levels of indirect ownership, to divert funds.

‘Loyal wingman’ to full ICBM triad & air defence, China’s show of power at Victory Day parade

China flaunted military might & modernisation as it displayed stealth drones, anti-satellite system & cyber warfare contingent during parade to mark victory over Japan in WWII.

For Indian Mercedes, Asim Munir’s dumper truck in mirror is closer than it appears

From Munir’s point of view, a few bumps here and there is par for the course. He isn’t going to drive his dumper truck to its doom. He wants to use it as a weapon.