Professor David Back, an expert in HIV pharmacology at the University of Liverpool said development of drug resistance was the main problem with current therapy.

BBC: HIV drug resistance target find

These patients will then be followed over a number of years to see if the addition of REGN727 reduces heart attacks and strokes over current therapy.

FORBES: Will Sanofi & Regeneron Ride ODYSSEY Into Riches?

"If validated in further clinical trials, this would represent a substantially more effective therapy than current treatments for Alzheimer's disease, " he said.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Alzheimer's gene therapy hailed

Malcolm Brenner, a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine and the current head of the American Society of Gene Therapy, says that such gene therapy is already being done.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Some people need electroconvulsive therapy, which blasts their brain with current to jar them out of the blues, risking side effects like memory loss.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Geron's current CEO, Thomas Okarma , believes the first uses of embryonic stem cells as a therapy will have to make use of powerful drugs that suppress the immune system.

FORBES: Cloning's High Cost

And, with two NIH-funded Stage IIB trials starting at Drexel University soon, the hope is that PRO 140 can eventually be developed into an effective post-exposure therapy delivered via injection once a week or a few times a month versus the current cocktail of pills available to patients today.

FORBES: Progress in Drug Therapy Marks the 25th Anniversary of World AIDS Day

MSPs then considered current petitions including ones on school bus safety, the adverse impact of coastguard station closures and access to therapy for orphan diseases.

BBC: Public Petitions Committee 2