By now, you’ve heard about gene editing.
Or, the ability to alter, remove, and even add a DNA sequence to help treat countless disorders we never thought treatable.
Right now, there are about 7,000 diseases caused by genetic disorders, which occur when a mutation affects your genes, or when you have the wrong amount of genetic material, as noted by the Cleveland Clinic.
According to Interesting Engineering, “Researchers have already identified DNA errors as the cause of nearly 7,000 diseases. Thankfully, the growing world of genome editing could be the ‘spell-checker’ needed to detect and eventually fix these.”
That “spell-checker” could very well help treat – and potentially do away with — cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and neurogenerative issues, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and even muscular dystrophy. It may even help with sickle cell anemia, lymphoblastic leukemia, lung cancer, multiple myeloma, Beta thalassemia, etc.
Eventually, it could usher in a new era of transformative medicine we’ve never seen before.
That includes companies like Editas Medicine (EDIT) – whose EDIT-301 treatment for severe sickle cell anemia is already showing positive safety and efficacy data in RUBY trials. Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald believe the company is “well-positioned to appreciate in the coming year due to favorable IP positioning and expected clinical data updates,” as noted by Insider Monkey.
Or, look at Beam Therapeutics (BEAM).
The beaten-down, oversold stock is showing signs of life again. Bernstein analyst William Pickering initiated coverage of Beam Therapeutics with a Market Perform rating and a $37 price target. The analyst has “enthusiasm” for Beam’s technology, noted TheFly.com.
There’s also CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP).
Over the last few days, CRSP exploded from $44 to $55 and could race higher. All on excitement about its potential therapies for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. Helping, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an outperform rating, with a $72 price target. The firm also expects CRSP to get a nod for its gene-editing therapy, exa-cel.
“The company has a very good chance of commercializing the first-ever CRISPR gene therapy later this year (a functional cure for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia),” they added. They also estimated a 90% probability of success for the approval and set its risk-adjected 2023 peak sales for the treatment at more than $1.6B compared to $1.3B in the consensus.
