Has CRISPR-Cas9 found a concrete application?

[Aidyan]

TL;DR

One reads so much about this new technology and its potential but it seems we are far from any practical application. Or is there already?

If so which? If not when is it expected to do so?
By concrete application I mean as being employed for curing diseases, or for some other practical purpose that goes beyond the foundational research.

 

[BWV]

https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...chnologies-wont-lead-designer-babies/']crispr-treatment-of-a-sickle-cell-patient.980724/[/URL]

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Because CRISPR is a fairly new technology, there are not FDA approved applications of CRISPR in the clinic yet. However, there are a number of clinical trials ongoing to test CRISPR in various clinical applications. In addition to the trial to treat sickle cell disease cited by @BWV, there are also trials ongoing to use CRISPR in engineering immune cells for cancer immunotherapy and trials to inject CRISPR reagents into the eye to correct congenital blindness.

For more information on ongoing CRISPR clinical trials see:
https://synbiobeta.com/[URL='https:...chnologies-wont-lead-designer-babies/']crispr-clinical-trials-a-2019-update/[/URL]
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...chnologies-wont-lead-designer-babies/']crispr-trials-editing-human-dna-for-new-medical-treatments-180973029/[/URL]

 

[BillTre]

Summary: One reads so much about this new technology and its potential but it seems we are far from any practical application. Or is there already?

some other practical purpose that goes beyond the foundational research

If you mean by foundational research is research about how CRISPR works and how to apply it, then there are lots of other applications of CRISPR in biological research, such as in genetics of animals and plants. CRISPR basically provides a more convenient and more accurate why to engineer genetics than previous methods.
This has been going on for years. Because it does not involve humans, there are not so many hurdles (involving things like safety and consent) to being able to use it. Potential human use has to be (largely) checked off on many safety restrictions that are not considered in non-human biological experiments. Thus medical uses, although exciting and getting lots of interest, will lag many non-medical uses. On the other hand, its also been used on crispr-help-or-harm-first-ever-gene-edited-babies']human embryos, by He, to generate human recombinants[/URL].

Besides research uses, it has also been used in other applications that are not so frequently discussed.
Here some unusual examples from a list https://www.labiotech.eu/tops/https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/dont-fear-crispr-new-gene-editing-technologies-wont-lead-designer-babies/-applications-gene-editing/:
Pet Breeding (proposed for dogs, done for fish already I think)
Allergy Free Foods (proposed agricultural product)
Recording Particular Events in the Life of a Cell (bio research)
Decaf Coffee beans (agricultural product)
Modifying Algae to Produce Fuel
Spicy Tomatoes (agricultural product)
Pest Control (modifying Mosquito Disease Vectors)
Faster Race Horses (under development, agricultural product?)
Better Agricultural Fish (agricultural product, in development)