Respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, acute lower respiratory tract infections, tuberculosis, and lung cancer are among the most common causes of severe illness and death globally. Urbanization, growing pollution, unhealthy lifestyle habits, and high tobacco smoking prevalence are among the factors leading to the surge in the number of respiratory and cardiovascular disease cases. These diseases can cause acute respiratory failure, treatment of which requires mechanical ventilation.

Gene therapies with the help of viral vectors are widely recommended for a range of monogenic disorders, such as sickle cell anemia, severe combined immunodeficiency, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, and Gaucher disease. For instance, in October 2019, a group of researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed a new improved viral vector for the treatment of sickle cell anemia. According to the researchers, the new vector is 10 times efficient than already existing viral vectors in the industry.