The DNA-shredding approach, reported in two papers in Nature1,2, could provide a way for researchers to kill cancer cells that express 'undruggable' mutant proteins that have been difficult to target using conventional medicines. 'It's a molecular kill switch that recognizes a particular RNA,' says Yang Liu, a molecular biologist at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, and an author of one of the papers. 'This is basically a programmable chemotherapy.' A therapy that uses this approach to target head and neck cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) is already in early development at Akribion Therapeutics, a biotechnology company in Zwingenberg, Germany. The goal is to produce the first clinical-trial data by 2030, says company co-founder Paul Scholz, who is head of research and development at Akribion and a co-author of one of the papers. CRISPR systems occur naturally in bacteria and other microorganisms, in which they act as a protective immune...
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