Casgevy approval unlikely to be followed up by another CRISPR drug in near future, says analyst

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: VRTX) and CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP) made history last month by gaining approval for the first CRISPR-based drug, Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel).

However, given that 88% of CRISPR drugs are in the early stages of development, it is unlikely to see another CRISPR approval any time soon, says pharma analytics firm GlobalData.

In November 2023, Casgevy secured the first approval for a CRISPR-based drug from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the treatment of sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. This ground-breaking decision made history by approving the first genome editing drug. The approval was swiftly followed by the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for sickle cell disease on December 8.