by Mike Barrett
November 5, 2012
from NaturalSociety Website
 

We’ve seen genetically modified mosquitoes, genetically modified plants, and genetically modified cows, but could we soon be dealing with our own genetic alterations... genetically modified humans?

As the months and years pass, scientists seem to be getting closer to ‘manufacturing’ humankind, with some of the most recent ‘advancements’ revolving around a new approved drug therapy that is designed to ‘correct genetic errors’.

Glybera, the drug which was approved in Europe on November 1, was created to combat against a rare disorder leading to disrupted fat production. Those suffering this rare disease possess what scientists describe as a damaged gene; the drug is meant to repair the damaged gene.

While the drug is only meant to be given to 1 or 2 out of every million people, it paves way for further experimentation into the field of biotechnology and human alteration.

Soon, doctors may be giving out drugs to treat any ‘defects’ in genes, whether it be for the so-called ‘fat’ gene or another instance where a damaged gene is present. It could even apply to purported ‘criminal’ genes that are said to predict an individual’s future ‘life of crime’.  

It may sound crazy, but scientists are already making even more serious moves that will alter or ‘create’ humankind.

Further Genetically Modifying Humanity

Although gene-altering drugs are indeed helping to pave the way for further human genetic modification, it is only a single move in the game.

Just a few months ago, we reported on the very first group of genetically modified babies being ‘created’ in the United States. The scientists stated that 30 babies were born using genetic modification techniques. In addition, 2 of the babies tested were found to contain genes from a total of 3 different parents. 

Genetecists state that this genetic modification method may one day be used to create genetically modified babies,

“with extra, desired characteristics such as strength or high intelligence.”

Interestingly enough, that day may come sooner than expected - at least for some of us.

Even leading scientists are now pushing for selective breeding based on genetic makeup, ‘handpicking’ genes of offspring, and even developing cloning technology to ‘grow’ human hybrids and other bizarre experiments. 

While gene-altering drugs and GM babies may appeal to the general public, scientists and biotech companies heavily funded by the government have been working on achieving a much larger feat -genetically modified humans in the form of ‘super soldiers’.

These GM humans go beyond even the imagination, not requiring food or sleep to perform Olympic-style physical feats, while being able to regrow limbs that were destroyed by enemy fire.

Drug to Fix Faulty DNA

...Gets Go-Ahead in Landmark Move that May Alter Medicine Forever
by Jenny Hope
2 November 2012

from DailyMail Website

Gene therapy drug given green light for rare disease
Glybera to cost £1m ($1.6m) for each patient
Drug is first to get approval in Western world
EU go-ahead paves way for many more treatments

Regulators yesterday approved the first therapy in the western world that can correct errors in a person’s genetic code.

Europe has approved Glybera to be used against a rare inherited disorder which disrupts fat production in the body. The treatment uses a virus to counteract LPLD, lipoprotein lipase deficiency, which can led to acute inflammation of the pancreas.

The illness affects around one or two people per million and sufferers have damaged copies of a gene which is essential for breaking down fats. The virus infects muscle cells with a copy of a healthy gene and a one-off treatment is effective.

The treatment was backed by an advisory panel to the European Commission in July and full approval was granted yesterday. The medicine should be available next year.

Professor John Kastelein, of the University of Amsterdam, said the therapy would have a ‘dramatic impact’ on patients. Only two other gene therapies have previously been approved for sale, both in China.

It will cost around £1 million ($1.6 million) per patient, a new record for pricey modern medicines.

Joern Aldag, chief executive of Amsterdam-based uniQure, said more such treatments would follow and argued a high price was justified because gene therapy restored natural body function and was not just a short-term fix.

'This provides higher benefit to patients than the classical protein replacement strategy and this is why we think we should be fairly and adequately compensated,' he said in a telephone interview on Friday

Patients with LPLD, which affects no more than one or two people per million, are unable to handle fat particles in their blood and are at risk of acute and potentially fatal inflammation of the pancreas.

The approval follows a positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in July.

WHAT DOES GLYBERA DO?

The therapy uses a virus (pictured below) to infect muscle cells with a working copy of the gene.

Glybera treats the genetic disorder lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD) by altering sufferers' DNA. LPLD affects about one in a million people, leaving them without a vital gene that breaks down fat particles in their blood.

It means fat builds up in the blood leading to abdominal pain and life-threatening inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). The only other way to manage the disease is by having a very low-fat diet.
 

 

 

The privately owned firm is now working with governments on potential pricing strategies, which are likely to vary from country to country, ahead of the commercial roll-out from the second half of 2013.

Aldag said some countries preferred the idea of a one-off payment at the time of treatment but others were interested in an annuity system, which would probably involve charging around £200,000 a year for five years.

That kind of annual charge would put Glybera in a similar price range to expensive enzyme replacement therapies for other rare diseases, such as Cerezyme for Gaucher disease from Sanofi's Genzyme unit.

UniQure is also preparing to apply for regulatory approval for Glybera in the United States, Canada and other markets.

The idea of treating disease by replacing a defective gene with a working copy gained credence in 1990 with the success of the world's first gene therapy clinical tests against a rare condition called severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).

People with SCID - also known as 'bubble boy disease' - cannot cope with infections and usually die in childhood.

The field then suffered a major setback when an Arizona teenager died in a gene therapy experiment in 1999 and two French boys with SCID developed leukaemia in 2002.

In China, Shenzhen SiBiono GeneTech won approval for a gene therapy drug for head and neck cancer in 2003 but no products have been approved until now in Europe or the United States.

More recently, some large pharmaceutical companies have also been exploring gene therapy. GlaxoSmithKline, for example, signed a deal in 2010 with Italian researchers to develop a SCID therapy.