Opportunities and Challenges of Gene-editing Technology CRISPR-Cas9
CRISPR-Cas9 research has developed into one of the most dynamic and fastest-moving fields in the life sciences and holds great promise for biotechnological and biomedical applications. On October 26, 2016 Rodger Novak, CEO and Co-founder of Crispr Therapeutics, visits the Pharmazentrum of the University of Basel to talk about the opportunities and challenges of this breakthrough technology.
14 October 2016
Speaker Rodger Novak manages the biotechnology company Crispr Therapeutics that is headquartered in Basel and has specialized in the CRISPR-Cas9 technology. As part of the lecture series “Seminars on Drug Sciences” Mr. Novak will talk about the use of the CRISPR- Cas9 system for the treatment of human diseases, highlighting some of the development and clinical research challenges, but also touch on some of the bioethical questions. The talk will be held in English.
CRISPR-Cas
CRISPR-Cas9 is originally part of the immune system of bacteria and protects them against viral infections. Deciphering the details of the CRISPR-Cas9 mechanism has resulted in the development of a truly transformative technology, allowing rapid and efficient targeted genome editing, chromosomal marking and gene regulation in a large variety of cells and organisms. CRISPR-Cas9 consists of Cas9, an enzyme that can be programmed with RNA guides to target site-specifically almost any DNA sequence of interest.
From bench to bedside
The system is efficient, versatile and easily programmable. Applications of the system have been extraordinarily broad, including among many others the generation of transgenic animals, genetic modification of various eukaryotic cell types, and genetic modification of plants and crops.
Despite the fact that many nations regulate modifications of the human genome, the pharmaceutical industry is showing great interest in further developing this technology for the potential treatment of serious human diseases. Already approximately two dozen tool and kit service companies offer CRISPR-Cas9-related products and three biopharmaceutical companies have been founded on the basis of the CRISPR-Cas technology so far.
Public lecture « CRISPR Cas a breakthrough technology – opportunities and challenges» by Rodger Novak, 26 October 2016, 5 pm, lecture hall 1, Pharmazentrum of the University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50, 4056 Basel. Free entrance.
