A leading Abu Dhabi hospital has become the first in the world to deliver a pioneering gene-therapy treatment that is poised to offer a lifeline to children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy.
Sheikh Khalifa Medical City successfully administered Itvisma, a one-dose drug which works to replace the defective SMN1 gene responsible for the debilitating disease, under the supervision of the emirate's Department of Health.
Authorities did not reveal any details about the patient who received the treatment or when the procedure took place.
The drug, developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, was given accelerated approval by the UAE on November 25, following clinical trials that demonstrated sustained impr
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