As antimicrobial resistance (AMR) escalates and chronic viral infections like
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and herpes remain without curative treatments, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based therapeutics are emerging as a promising new strategy in the infectious disease space. GlobalData’s recent CRISPR Gene Editing in Infectious Diseases: Market Overview report highlights how gene editing platforms are being adapted to target latent viral reservoirs and drug-resistant bacteria.
One of the key candidates spotlighted in the report is Excision BioTherapeutics’ EBT-101, a Cas9-based CRISPR therapy designed to remove integrated HIV proviral DNA from infected cells. EBT-101 has been investigated in Phase I/II clinical trials and is the first CRISPR therapy for HIV to enter human testing, marking a major milestone for gene editing in infectious diseases. Although early clinical data has shown that EBT-101 does not eliminate HIV entirely, the study confirmed that it had favourable safety and tolerability, laying the groundwork for future refinement of in vivo gene-editing strategies.
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Alongside this, BDGene Therapeutics is advancing BD-111 for herpetic stromal keratitis caused by herpes simplex virus, an area where current therapies fail to eliminate latent infection. The therapy is currently in Phase II development. The ability of CRISPR to selectively target viral DNA in latent cells sets it apart from standard antivirals that only suppress replication.
CRISPR is also being integrated into engineered bacteriophages to combat AMR, with Locus Biosciences and SNIPR Biome leading development in this space. Their respective candidates, LBP-EC01 and SNIPR001, target drug-resistant Escherichia coli and are both in Phase II development. These phage-based therapies aim to precisely eliminate harmful bacteria without affecting the surrounding microbiome, which is a key limitation of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
While early trial results are promising, key opinion leaders (KOLs) interviewed by GlobalData cited delivery, immune response, and regulatory complexity as ongoing challenges. Lipid nanoparticles and adeno-associated viruses are being explored for in vivo delivery while experts also raised the need for regulatory frameworks that can accommodate CRISPR’s modular nature, particularly in the face of rapidly mutating viral targets.
As more clinical data emerges, CRISPR-based infectious disease therapeutics could play a pivotal role in shifting treatment paradigms. However, their broad adoption will rely on addressing technical and systemic barriers as the field matures.
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By GlobalData
