Gene Editing Breakthroughs Demand New Social Contract for Access

A recent editorial from The Guardian highlights the urgent need for a new social contract in light of advancements in gene editing technologies. Currently, only a small fraction of our 20,000 genes can cause disease when disrupted, leading to thousands of rare disorders.

The high cost of developing new therapies, averaging around $2 billion, limits access to effective treatments. As noted by Brian David Smith in New Drugs, Fair Prices, the focus of innovation is skewed towards profitable cancer drugs, leaving complex gene therapies for rare conditions underdeveloped.

An example cited is the revolutionary gene therapy at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, which successfully treated a young patient but faces financial sustainability challenges. The editorial warns that without a change in the market model, effective treatments may become unavailable due to prohibitive costs, which can reach six or seven figures per patient.

The geopolitical landscape is also shifting, with pharmaceutical research and manufacturing moving towards nations with better policy support, such as China and the US. The UK risks being left behind as it faces pressures from international trade agreements that could raise drug prices.

The editorial calls for a model where gene therapies are treated like essential services, funded collectively rather than as market commodities, ensuring that breakthroughs become part of the common good.