Even though the genetic cause of sickle-cell disease has been understood for longer than any similar disorder, new treatments have lagged behind. For example, the fight against cystic fibrosis, which affects primarily white Americans and Europeans, has received eight times more funding from government, charities, and foundations. The great promise of gene editing is that it will transform medicine. The peril is that it will widen the healthcare divide between rich and poor. Doudna’s sickle-cell initiative is designed to find ways to avoid that.
