Gene therapy for Huntington’s: corporate R&D vs. global access gaps in neurodegenerative care
Original framing: “STAT+: UniQure’s gene therapy continues to slow Huntington’s progression after four years” — STAT News
Patients in the Global South, where Huntington’s is often misdiagnosed or conflated with other neurological disorders, are systematically excluded from late-stage trials. For example, in parts of Latin America, indigenous communities with high Huntington’s prevalence lack access to genetic counseling or clinical research. The corporate narrative of
The UniQure gene therapy story is not just about a corporate biotech breakthrough—it’s a microcosm of how **neoliberal healthcare systems prioritize profit over equity**, how **colonial knowledge erasure** obscures viable alternatives, and how **media narratives serve power structures** by framing innovation as apolitical.
The diminishing returns after four years aren’t just a scientific limitation; they’re a symptom of a system where **publicly funded research is privatized**, where **marginalized patients are excluded from trials**, and where **corporate tricksterism** (masked as innovation) delays affordable solutions. The trickster figure of **Eshu** forces us to see the absurdity: a world where a $2M therapy is hailed as progress while public hospitals lack neurologists. The path forward demands **decolonizing trials**, **public-owned biotech hubs**, and **universal neurocare access**—not as charity, but as reparations for decades of medical exclusion. The synthesis? **Huntington’s care can’t be solved by gene editing alone; it requires dismantling the systems that hoard knowledge, exclude communities, and treat health as a commodity.