Overview
- Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh launched the CRISPR-based therapy, named BIRSA 101, at CSIR-IGIB in Delhi.
- CSIR-IGIB executed a technology-transfer agreement with the Serum Institute of India, which will take forward development, manufacturing and later-stage trials.
- IGIB says phase-1 preparations have begun with a pool of about 150 potential participants from Jabalpur, Raipur and Ranchi, with three initial patients to be finalised after regulatory approvals.
- The clinical workflow assigns bone-marrow extraction to AIIMS Delhi and gene editing to IGIB, with the extraction process expected to take about 120 days.
- Officials project a substantial price drop versus overseas CRISPR treatments that cost around USD 3 million, aligning the effort with India’s 2047 sickle cell elimination pledge and leveraging the enFnCas9 platform for potential future applications.