Crispr Therapeutics Stock Gains on Hope for Sickle-Cell Gene Therapy

An approval filing for a breakthrough treatment of sickle cell disease should be done by March,


Crispr Therapeutics


said, highlighting the company’s lead in a competitive area of medical research and triggering a gain in the stock.

If approved, the exa-cel treatment from Crispr (ticker: CRSP) and its partner


Vertex Pharmaceuticals


(VRTX) would be the first U.S.-marketed therapy based on Crispr—a Nobel-winning technology that rewrites faulty genes. Patients who received the one-time treatment in clinical trials have remained free of the red blood cell disorder‘s agonizing symptoms.