BBC Inside Science Why aren’t gene therapies more common?
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Nov 27, 2025 Claire Booth, a leading gene therapy professor at Great Ormond Street Hospital, discusses the challenges of making gene therapies more common, addressing cost and complexity. Dr. Jennifer Millard shares insights on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope's final observations of ancient cosmic light and the implications for understanding the universe. Roland Pease reports on geological developments from the Afar eruption and its connection to human evolution. Lastly, Penny Sarchet highlights recent fascinating research on brain changes and genetics in golden retrievers.
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Gene Therapy Is Advancing, Not Instant
- Gene therapy progress is real but slow due to cost, manufacturing complexity, and small patient groups.
- Claire Booth says platform approaches could speed, cheapen and scale treatments.
Prepare Bone Marrow Before Reinfusion
- Use autologous ex vivo cell correction to treat blood and immune disorders by re-infusing gene-corrected stem cells.
- Prepare bone marrow with chemotherapy to allow corrected cells to engraft.
Vectors vs Editing: Broad Vs Precise
- Viral vector therapies can fix all mutations in a gene while precise gene editing often targets single mutations.
- Platform strategies aim to reuse tools and knowledge across patients and mutations.