Annual Editor's Letter

Dear Readers of Human Gene Therapy ,

We at H uman G ene T herapy take pride in being the longest running journal in the field of gene and cell therapy, the official journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, Société Française de Thérapie Cellulaire et Génique, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gentherapie, Sociedad Española de Terapia Génica y Celular, Nederlandse Vereniging voor Gen en Celtherapie, Irish Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, Finnish Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, and Israeli Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, and the gene therapy journal with the deepest connections to patients and patient advocacy groups.

In the past year, Human Gene Therapy has moved forward steadily as a trusted source of scientific and clinical evidence, insightful perspectives, and critical literature reviews. Recent special issues have included the issue coincident with the 2022 ESGCT Annual Congress. The ESGCT issue included a series of highly current and impactful review articles focused on gene therapy for different organs systems. Other special issues have centered on gene therapy for endocrinologic disorders, lung diseases, and muscle diseases. Our recurring features have included new methodological approaches to manufacturing and quality control, late phase preclinical studies, and early phase clinical studies. Finally, we have highlighted trends in the biotechnology industry and have published interviews of key leaders and pioneers in the field.

In the remainder of this year and in 2024, we will feature even more special issues, with topics including ex vivo lentivirus gene therapy and gene editing, immune responses to adeno-associated virus, machine learning applications in gene therapy, as well as exosomes and other extracellular vesicles for gene delivery. Advances in methods and research in cancer immunotherapy and genome editing will also be highlighted.

The field of gene therapy continues to mature. As it does, more ethical and social issues begin to arise around questions such as accessibility and affordability of gene therapy, and the potential for global impact of gene therapy going forward into the future. We, on the editorial team, remain committed to both presenting the most rigorous science in gene and cell therapy, as well as serving as a forum for editorials on the ethical and social issues as together we chart the future of our field.