Crispr Approval, Gemini, and Grok | The Brainstorm EP 27
Dec 13, 2023
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Ali Urman, ARK Analyst, joins the discussion on the breakthrough in Crispr gene editing. The podcast also covers Google's Gemini and Twitter's Grok, as well as the approval of America's first gene-editing therapy, Casgevy. They explore the differences between gene editing and gene therapy, debate the controversy surrounding Gemini's marketing, and discuss the value accrual in new technology.
The FDA has approved America's first gene-editing therapy, Casgevy, for the treatment of sickle cell disease, offering a potential cure for this genetic condition.
Google's Gemini, a large language model trained for multimodal capabilities, showcases the future potential of AI-powered digital assistants to better understand and interact with humans.
Deep dives
First ever gene editing approval for sickle cell disease
The FDA has approved the first gene editing therapy called Kishjavi, developed by CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, for the treatment of sickle cell disease. The therapy targets the BCL-11a gene and aims to turn back on fetal hemoglobin production. This breakthrough therapy has the potential to provide a cure for sickle cell disease, which affects around 100,000 people in the US and 20 million people worldwide.
Comparison between gene editing and gene therapy
The gene editing therapy Kishjavi alters genes by modifying or taking away a specific gene, while gene therapy, like Bluebird's Ligenia, adds an extra copy of a gene. Kishjavi and Ligenia target different genes and have different price points, with Kishjavi costing 2.2 million and Ligenia costing 3.1 million. Additionally, Ligenia received a black box label due to a risk of developing secondary cancer, while Kishjavi doesn't have that warning. Both therapies show promise in treating genetic diseases.
Google's Gemini: Advancements in multimodal language models
Google has introduced Gemini, a new large language model that is specifically trained for multimodal capabilities, including text, images, audio, and video. Gemini, benchmarked against GPT-4, excelled in a test called the Massive Multitask Language Understanding Benchmark, scoring a 90% compared to GPT-4's 87%. However, there have been controversies surrounding the marketing of Gemini, as the prompt used in the video showcasing the model's abilities was different from the actual prompts used during testing. Despite the marketing misstep, the development of multimodal language models like Gemini heralds a future where AI-powered digital assistants can better understand and interact with humans.
The FDA Has Approved America’s First Gene-Editing Therapy—Casgevy. This week, Autonomous Technology and Robotics Director of Research Sam Korus and Associate Portfolio Manager Nick Grous are joined by Ali Urman, ARK Analyst. Together they discuss a Crispr gene editing breakthrough. Then, Sam and Nick discuss Google's Gemini and Twitter's Grok
If you know ARK, then you probably know about our long-term research projections, like estimating where we will be 5-10 years from now! But just because we are long-term investors, doesn’t mean we don’t have strong views and opinions on breaking news. In fact, we discuss and debate this every day. So now we’re sharing some of these internal discussions with you in our new video series, “The Brainstorm”, a co-production from ARK and Public.com. Tune in every week as we react to the latest in innovation. Here and there we’ll be joined by special guests, but ultimately this is our chance to join the conversation and share ARK’s quick takes on what’s going on in tech today.
Key Points From This Episode:
Crispr Approval
Gemini
Grok
For more updates on Public.com:
Website: https://public.com/
YouTube: @publicinvest
Twitter: https://twitter.com/public
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