Cathie Wood Gets Elon Musk's Attention Over Gene-Editing Therapy Potential: 'Investors Chased The Dream Then. Now, They're Running Away'

Zinger Key Points
  • The ARK Founder referred to a news report which said a 12-year old girl was cleared of her cancer using base editing
  • Wood said that technologies are ready and the costs are low enough now for prime time unlike in the late 90s.
  • Tesla Chief Elon Musk expressed his admiration to Wood’s observations.

Cathie Wood of ARK Investment Management believes U.S. equity markets are the polar opposite of what they were in the 90s when investors chased their dreams.

She cited the example of a research hospital in the U.K. that base-edited the genome of a 12-year-old girl suffering from leukemia. “She had failed dozens of therapies and had no more options. Seven months later, she is cancer-free. Not many investors know about it,” Wood tweeted.

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The ARK Founder was referring to a news report by the BBC which said Alyssa, who was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, was cleared of her cancer with the help of base editing by doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Wood highlighted the rout in the financial markets in 2022 drowned the news and that few analysts are also trying to completely discount the potential.

“The bear market last year suffocated this news, even though it made a splash at ASH, the American Society of Hematology conference. While one cure does not a trend make, few analysts are discounting any possibility that gene editing might cure cancer,” she said.

Holdings: The ARK Genomic Revolution ETF ARKG holds stocks like Beam Therapeutics Inc BEAM, Verve Therapeutics Inc VERV and Crispr Therapeutics AG CRSP which are working in the field of gene editing.

“In our view, US equity markets today are 180 degrees away from those in the tech and telecom bubble in the late nineties. Unlike the case then, the technologies are ready and the costs are low enough for prime time. Investors chased the dream then. Now, they are running away,” Wood said.

Tesla CEO expressed his admiration for Wood’s observations, responding with a single word – ‘Wow.’

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Posted In: BiotechNewsBroad U.S. Equity ETFsSmall CapMarketsETFsGeneralARK Investment ManagementCathie WoodElon MuskGene-editing
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