Jessica Curran is a DMD mother to her son Conner, CRD board member as well as a DMD patient advocate.

This past week, Cure Rare Disease’s first therapeutic 一developed using CRISPR technology to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy一began its final stage of testing leading up to dosing this fall. This CRISPR therapeutic will be one of the first of its kind to be delivered systemically to the human body, an accomplishment built on decades of science and research. As we approach this huge milestone in CRD’s mission, we wanted to reflect on the path that has gotten us here today.

Gene therapy is the future of treating rare, genetic diseases that were previously thought to have no cure. CRD is breaking down what gene therapy is and how we are using gene therapy to develop therapies for neuromuscular diseases including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), limb-girdle muscular dystrophy subtypes, and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3).