Genetically engineering red blood cells to turn them into drug-delivery vehicles could open the door to a vast number of new therapies. And since mature red cells don’t carry any genetic material, they would also carry fewer safety risks than other gene and cell therapies. That’s the idea behind the technology unveiled today by Rubius, an 18-month-old company founded by Flagship Ventures in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Rubius’s first drug will be for phenylketonuria, or PKU, a devastating genetic disorder that renders people with the disease unable to digest the amino acid phenylalanine, which is found in most high-protein foods. Left untreated, PKU can lead to a variety of serious health problems including brain damage, but the only way to treat it is with an extremely restrictive diet…
Source: MIT Technology Review