Officials Remove Special Rules for Gene Therapy Experiments

In this Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 file photo, a nurse practitioner prepares to start the first human gene editing treatment for Hunter syndrome, an inherited metabolic disease, at a hospital in Oakland, Calif. On Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, federal officials said that gene therapy is becoming an established form of medical care and carries no special risks that warrant special regulation, as they revised rules for vetting such experiments and products. AP/Eric Risberg

U.S. health officials are eliminating special regulations for gene therapy experiments, saying that what was once exotic science is quickly becoming an established form of medical care with no extraordinary risks.

A special National Institutes of Health oversight panel will no longer review all gene therapy applications and will instead take on a broader advisory role, according to changes proposed Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration will vet gene therapy experiments and products as it does with other treatments and drugs.