Gene Therapy Could Be On the Cusp of a Major Breakthrough, but Investors May Have to Remain Patient
On Sept. 14, 1990, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr. made history by hitting back-to-back home runs. However, the day is also memorable for another remarkable event: A 4-year-old girl named Ashanti DeSilva became the first person to receive gene therapy, a procedure that involved injecting her with modified white blood cells to boost her immune system.
DeSilva suffered from a rare genetic disorder that impaired her immunity, but the groundbreaking gene therapy helped her live a normal life. However, gene therapy as a field struggled in the immediate aftermath because of safety concerns stemming from problematic delivery vehicles.
Source Fool.com