WADA Bans "Gene Editing" in 2018

[Eman]

[WADA really should figure out how to catch an athlete using a simple PED before they get too ahead of themselves...]

Anti-doping agencies are constantly playing whack-a-mole with cheating; new drugs pop up as soon as tests are found for the old ones. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) now https://www.wada-ama.org/en/media/news/2017-09/wada-publishes-2018-list-of-prohibited-substances-and-methods it wants to to crush a new one before it grows into a monster: Gene-editing. Starting next year, the list of banned substances includes "gene editing agents designed to alter genome sequences and/or the transcriptional or epigenetic regulation of gene expression," the agency says.

If you're thinking that sounds a lot like CRISPR gene editing, the new rule seems to be targeting just that. As it stands, WADA already bars genetically modified cells and other types of gene therapy that can enhance performance, but the existing rules don't cover CRISPR-type methods.

The agency said that certain types of medical gene therapy might be allowed, as long as they don't significantly enhance athletic prowess. "Generally, performance enhancement implies enhancement beyond a return to normal, although you may appreciate that this is not always easy to prove definitively," WADA spokesperson Maggie Durand told New Scientist.

WADA seems to be well ahead of any actual cheating. Only one CRISPR trial with humans has been completed, a form of lung cancer treatment done at Sichuan University in China (dozens more are planned in the nation). Unlike regular drug doping, CRISPR requires sophisticated, expensive equipment and techniques, so it's not like shady MDs can do it their garages -- for now.

It's a good thing that WADA doesn't have anyone to catch yet, because it doesn't really seem to have any detection methods, either. When quizzed by New Scientist (Engadget has reached, out too) about how it plans to catch gene-editing cheaters, the agency had no response. It's been working on techniques to detect such doping for over ten years, but only came up with a single test least year. For now, the best method might be the "https://www.wada-ama.org/en/questions-answers/athlete-biological-passport" that can detect significant changes in an athlete's body.

Source:

Anti-doping agency to ban gene editing starting in 2018

 

[master.on]

[WADA really should figure out how to catch an athlete using a simple PED before they get too ahead of themselves...]

Anti-doping agencies are constantly playing whack-a-mole with cheating; new drugs pop up as soon as tests are found for the old ones. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) now https://www.wada-ama.org/en/media/news/2017-09/wada-publishes-2018-list-of-prohibited-substances-and-methods it wants to to crush a new one before it grows into a monster: Gene-editing. Starting next year, the list of banned substances includes "gene editing agents designed to alter genome sequences and/or the transcriptional or epigenetic regulation of gene expression," the agency says.

If you're thinking that sounds a lot like CRISPR gene editing, the new rule seems to be targeting just that. As it stands, WADA already bars genetically modified cells and other types of gene therapy that can enhance performance, but the existing rules don't cover CRISPR-type methods.

The agency said that certain types of medical gene therapy might be allowed, as long as they don't significantly enhance athletic prowess. "Generally, performance enhancement implies enhancement beyond a return to normal, although you may appreciate that this is not always easy to prove definitively," WADA spokesperson Maggie Durand told New Scientist.

WADA seems to be well ahead of any actual cheating. Only one CRISPR trial with humans has been completed, a form of lung cancer treatment done at Sichuan University in China (dozens more are planned in the nation). Unlike regular drug doping, CRISPR requires sophisticated, expensive equipment and techniques, so it's not like shady MDs can do it their garages -- for now.

It's a good thing that WADA doesn't have anyone to catch yet, because it doesn't really seem to have any detection methods, either. When quizzed by New Scientist (Engadget has reached, out too) about how it plans to catch gene-editing cheaters, the agency had no response. It's been working on techniques to detect such doping for over ten years, but only came up with a single test least year. For now, the best method might be the "https://www.wada-ama.org/en/questions-answers/athlete-biological-passport" that can detect significant changes in an athlete's body.

Source:

Anti-doping agency to ban gene editing starting in 2018

Banning something that doesn't even exist now?
lol What's next? Banning Teleportation? Banning anti-gravity?

 

[Millard]

Banning something that doesn't even exist now?
lol What's next? Banning Teleportation? Banning anti-gravity?

The genome editing technology existed and has been used in humans since 2009 but human trials have "boomed" in recent years with new CRISPR technology:

Boom in human gene editing as 20 CRISPR trials gear up
30 May 2017, updated 7 June 2017
By Michael Le Page

One of these trials will involve the first-ever attempt to use CRISPR to edit cells while they are inside the body. The aim is to prevent cervical cancers by targeting and destroying the genes of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause tumour growth. This study is due to begin in July at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University in China.

Gene therapy, which involves adding extra genes to cells, was first used to cure people in 1990, but it is mainly useful for treating rare genetic disorders. In contrast, gene-editing, which involves altering existing genes inside cells, promises to treat or cure a much wider range of conditions, from HIV infection to high blood cholesterol.

“One of these trials will involve the first-ever attempt to edit cells inside the body”
The first gene-editing trial in humans started in 2009. Doctors removed immune cells from people with HIV, disabled the gene for the CCR5 receptor – which the virus uses to get into cells – and returned the HIV-resistant cells to the body. The treatment appears to keep HIV in check.

[...]

The first clinical trial involving CRISPR began at the West China Hospital in Chengdu in October 2016. Doctors removed immune cells from the blood of a person with lung cancer, used CRISPR to disable a gene called PD-1 and then returned the cells to the body.

PD-1 codes for an immune cell “off” switch. Tumours can flip this switch to prevent immune cells attacking – so if immune cells lack the PD-1 switch then cancer cells cannot manipulate them. However, there is a risk that the “always on” immune cells could begin attacking healthy cells.

The lung cancer trial isn’t due to finish until 2018, but other teams are forging ahead. Clinical trial registries show that a dozen more trials that will disable PD-1 with CRISPR are planned in China. These target conditions including breast, prostate, bladder, oesophageal, kidney, colorectal and Epstein-Barr virus-associated cancers.

[...]

Three trials getting underway in the US will use another genome editing method known as zinc finger nucleases to add genes to liver cells to try to treat haemophilia B, and Hurler and Hunter syndromes.

A further four planned CRISPR trials involve changing immune cells to make them better at killing cancers. First, a virus will be used to add a gene to immune cells that makes them attack specific tumours – creating so-called CAR-T cells. Then two or more genes – usually including PD-1 – will be disabled with CRISPR to make the cells even more effective.

Such UCART19 cells have already saved the lives of two girls, but these cells were created with an older gene-editing method. Now a clinical trial is due to start in the UK. “Our lab is moving over to CRISPR,” team leader Waseem Qasim of University College London told a meeting in February.

Two similar UCART19 trials are planned in China, with another in the US. Trials are also planned for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, says Lovell-Badge, but these are probably some way from starting.