gene therapy

noun

Updated on: 16 May 2018

Definition of gene therapy

: the insertion of usually genetically altered genes into cells especially to replace defective genes in the treatment of genetic disorders or to provide a specialized disease-fighting function

—

gene therapist

noun

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Examples of gene therapy in a Sentence

advances in the science of gene therapy

Recent Examples of gene therapy from the Web

Further ahead, a new generation of cures, such as a gene therapy for haemophilia, may cost more than $1m.

— The Economist, "Americans, tired of high-priced drugs, are fighting back," 10 May 2018
Roberts last year injected himself with an untested gene therapy, according to the BBC.

— william thornton, AL.com, "Biohacker CEO Aaron Traywick, Montevallo grad, found dead," 1 May 2018
The deal is a bet that at least one promising drug that AveXis is developing for therapies aimed at spinal muscular atrophy will translate into a blockbuster and, as STAT notes, is the second foray by Novartis into gene therapy this year.

— ed silverman, STAT, "Pharmalittle: Novartis pays $9 billion for gene therapy company; Merck’s Keytruda scores a win," 9 Apr. 2018
The team also led the development of retroviruses as vectors to deliver DNA for gene therapy.

— meredith wadman, Science | AAAS, "Famed cancer biologist allegedly sexually harassed women for decades," 26 Apr. 2018
Since patients like Yuna, with one dysfunctional and one functional FOXG1 gene, produce half the necessary FOXG1 protein, Soo-Kyung wonders if gene therapy could restore some protein or boost protein activity in the good gene.

— author: pam belluck, Anchorage Daily News, "Infinitesimal odds: A scientist finds her child’s rare illness stems from the gene she studies," 25 Apr. 2018
The action comes less than four months after Verma, one of the world’s foremost experts on gene therapy, was place on temporary leave as editor of the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

— gary robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Salk Institute places a star geneticist on leave over allegations about his conduct," 21 Apr. 2018
Some analysts and investors criticized the Baxalta deal because of new competition in the hemophilia market and the looming threat of a new kind of drug known as gene therapy.

— noemie bisserbe, WSJ, "Fast-Growing Shire PLC Had Pharmaceutical Rivals in a Takeover Frenzy," 19 Apr. 2018
Liu has been working with the gene-editing tool CRISPR for about six years, developing a gene therapy that might one day treat human hearing loss, among other things.

— alessandra potenza, The Verge, "Rampage may stoke CRISPR fears, but scientists say it could be educational, too," 18 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gene therapy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of gene therapy

1970

in the meaning defined above

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GENE THERAPY Defined for English Language Learners

gene therapy

noun

Definition of gene therapy for English Language Learners

medical : a way of treating some disorders and diseases that usually involves replacing bad copies of genes with other genes

Medical Dictionary

gene therapy

noun

medical Definition of gene therapy

: the insertion of usually genetically altered genes into cells especially to replace defective genes in the treatment of genetic disorders or to provide a specialized disease-fighting function (as the destruction of tumor cells)

—

gene therapist

noun

Learn More about gene therapy

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gene therapy

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gene therapy

Definition of gene therapy

gene therapist

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gene therapy

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gene therapy

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gene therapist

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