The Australian government has given a funding boost to an Australian biomedical research organisation, the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, to conduct clinical trials for the world’s first gene therapy for type 1 diabetes.
The therapy was also developed thanks to the government’s ten-year $600 million (US$385 million) research accelerator program, targeted at addressing chronic and complex diseases.
This will be the first time that genetically engineered pancreatic cells will be transplanted into humans to treat type 1 diabetes.
Instead of using drugs or surgery, gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. It alters a person’s genetic makeup by carrying genetically engineered DNA molecules into a patient….