The 2026 Breakthrough Prize was given to two researchers whose research led to a functional cure for sickle cell disease. (Image credit: Just_Super via Getty Images)

Two scientists whose work ushered in the first approved therapy using the gene-editing tool CRISPR have won the $3 million Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

The prize winners ‪—‬ Dr. Swee Lay Thein , of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and Dr. Stuart H. Orkin , of Harvard University — shared the award for basic research that led to the development of a gene therapy that treats the blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.

The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences has been awarded since 2013 to recognize accomplishments in the life sciences.

Deadly blood disorders

Sickle cell disease affects around 7 million to 8 million people globally, predominantly in Africa.…