The 2026 Breakthrough Prize has been awarded to two researchers who led to the first approved therapy using the gene-editing tool CRISPR. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and Harvard University shared the award for basic research that led to a gene therapy that treats the blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. The treatment, Casgevy Administering, functionally cures patients of these diseases by disabling a single gene. The researchers received their awards at a ceremony in Los Angeles.