Sickle Cell Gene Therapies Unreachable for Most Affected Countries

High costs and complex administration requirements keep promising treatments out of reach in regions like India and Africa.

New gene therapies promising a cure for sickle cell disease are inaccessible in countries where the disease is most prevalent, such as India and Africa, due to their high cost and complex administration requirements.
The therapies, which are among the most expensive treatments in the world, require long hospitalizations, sophisticated medical equipment, and specially trained doctors and scientists.
Access to gene therapies was a major focus of this year’s international summit on human genome editing in London, with an editorial in the journal Nature highlighting that high prices leave low- and middle-income countries 'entirely in the lurch'.
For gene therapy to be an option, people in developing nations must stay alive long enough to get it, with late diagnosis and lack of basic care common in these regions.
Scientists are working on developing easier-to-administer versions of the new therapies, but these are likely to remain unaffordable for many, making the role of foundations and governments crucial in getting them to patients.