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clinical trial participants

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First Person Dosed in Novel Gene Editing Clinical Trial

Amanda Heidt | Jul 12, 2022 | 4 min read

The biotech company Verve Therapeutics launched the study with the aim of using base editing to treat a genetic condition that causes high cholesterol and increases a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Illustration of scientists collaborating

How to Bring the Public into the Scientific Process

Amanda Heidt | Mar 14, 2022 | 10+ min read

A new wave of research is recruiting patients and other members of the public to serve as equal partners, bringing fresh perspectives to research on diseases and other conditions.

Artist's rendition of a yellow CAR T cell near a red cancer cell surrounded by red blood cells.

Ten Years On, CAR T Cell Recipient Is Still Cancer-Free

Jef Akst | Feb 3, 2022 | 2 min read

First, the genetically engineered cells became CD8⁺ killer T cells that wiped out his leukemia. Then they transformed into a stable population of CD4⁺ helper T cells that continue to circulate in his body.

An artistic rendering of blue neurons against a white background

Participant’s Diagnosis Halts Gene Therapy Clinical Trial

Amanda Heidt | Aug 12, 2021 | 3 min read

The FDA pauses the research program on a lentivirus-based treatment for a rare neurological condition after a patient developed a bone marrow disorder that could presage leukemia.

An illustration of a DNA double helix in gold with texture

Gene Therapy Continues to Benefit Kids with Immunodeficiency

Jef Akst | May 12, 2021 | 2 min read

Four dozen children with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) who received a corrective gene carried by a virus have working immune systems two to three years later, according to three independent clinical trials.

Pandemic Accelerates Trend Toward Remote Clinical Trials

Jef Akst | May 1, 2021 | 8 min read

Now more than ever before, recruiting patients for a research study doesn’t have to mean getting them to leave their homes.

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, pandemic, coronavirus, clinical trials, safety, vaccine, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen

Johnson & Johnson Pauses COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

Amanda Heidt | Oct 13, 2020 | 3 min read

The company voluntarily paused its studies, including one in Phase 3, after an unexplained illness in a patient.

A Challenge Trial for COVID-19 Would Not Be the First of Its Kind

Jef Akst | Oct 8, 2020 | 9 min read

Although scientists debate the ethics of deliberately infecting volunteers with SARS-CoV-2, plenty of consenting participants have been exposed to all sorts of pathogens in prior trials.

Two COVID-19 Clinical Trials Seek to Enroll Pregnant Women

Jef Akst | Jul 20, 2020 | 5 min read

Upon seeing pregnant women sick with COVID-19 at a University of Pennsylvania hospital, researchers there wrote trial protocols for blood transfusions to treat the disease that include expecting mothers.

Early Results Are Positive for Experimental CRISPR Therapies

Jef Akst | Nov 19, 2019 | 2 min read

Two clinical trial participants—one with β-thalassemia and one with sickle cell disease—appeared to benefit from the gene-editing treatments with minimal side effects, according to the companies.

Data Sharing in Action: When Drug Companies Open Their Trial Vaults

Abby Olena, PhD | Dec 3, 2018 | 5 min read

YODA, a program facilitated by Yale University researchers, has successfully distributed clinical trial records from Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic to external researchers since 2013.