Investors skittish again over preclinical CRISPR studies

Investor response to a pair of papers linking CRISPR-based gene editing to cancer are the latest example of a market overreaction to preclinical news on the still-nascent technology. The papers unearth a potential safety concern based on studies performed in cells by groups at the Karolinksa Institute and Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN), respectively.

CRISPR has yet to be tested in humans outside of China, and its known safety concerns include the potential for off-target toxicity due to cuts at unintended parts of the genome...