What's Going On With Crispr Therapeutics Stock Thursday?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG CRSP shares are trading higher Thursday after the company announced regulatory authorization of the first CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy.

What Happened: Crispr and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc VRTX announced that the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted the companies conditional marketing authorization for CASGEVY, a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy for the treatment of sickle cell disease.

The therapy has been authorized for use in eligible patients 12 years of age and older. The company estimated that there are about 2,000 patients eligible for CASGEVY therapy in the U.K.

"I hope this represents the first of many applications of this Nobel Prize winning technology to benefit eligible patients with serious diseases," said Samarth Kulkarni, chairman and CEO of CRISPR Therapeutics.

Reshma Kewalramani, president and CEO of Vertex said, "Today is a historic day in science and medicine: this authorization of CASGEVY in Great Britain is the first regulatory authorization of a CRISPR-based therapy in the world."

See Also: MAIA Biotechnology MAIA Has Received FDA Orphan Drug Designation For THIO As A Treatment For Most Aggressive Brain Cancer

CRSP Price Action: Crispr shares were up 4.93% at $59 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: R-region from Pixabay.