A message from the President
It’s already been 18 years since we enter the era of innovation, the 21st century. Many obstacles have been overcome and finally we find rays of hope in gene therapy. AI (artificial Intelligence) evolves in full flood, genetic analysis and genome editing (a set of technologies used to modify the genetic makeup of cells) are coming into reality due to the improvement of big data processing ability.
In 2003 at that time “genetic analysis” would take 10 years and cost 3000 billion yen to analyze one person. It is now possible in one day and only cost from several to 10 thousand yen per person.
By genome editing, complete cure of genetic disorder muscular dystrophy or cancer has taken into consideration. It is getting clear which part of DNA is related to cancer. A
More >>Latest Gene therapy
When it comes to gene therapy, some people might have an impression of modifying human genes, but it is not this. This treatment introduces genes into cells to produce a certain protein from genes that leads to improvement in the symptoms. Although the effect of treatment may be achieved by administering the protein itself, to continue the effect of the treatment, the protein has to continue being administered because it breaks down too soon. In some cases purification of protein costs a lot which means the drug would be expensive. While gene therapy can continue producing proteins that are required in the target organs by inserting certain proteins into the gene carrier called a vector, hopefully the target organ will obtain the required protein for a long time with fewer treatments required. More >>
