SCID, for example, bone-marrow precursor cells can be removed, treated and then injected back into place.

ECONOMIST: The prospects for using genes as a therapy may be improving

GlaxoSmithKline, for example, signed a deal in 2010 with Italian researchers to develop a SCID therapy.

MSN: European regulators back first gene therapy drug

Isobel Brydie, spokeswoman for the Scottish Campaign against Irresponsible Drivers (SCID), branded the driver as "completely mad".

BBC: The motorist was filmed driving at 150mph

People with SCID -- also known as "bubble boy disease" -- cannot cope with infections and usually die in childhood.

MSN: European regulators back first gene therapy drug

The field then suffered a major setback when an Arizona teenager died in a gene therapy experiment in 1999 and two French boys with SCID developed leukemia in 2002.

MSN: European regulators back first gene therapy drug

The Glaxo gene therapy program will focus on a severe immune deficiency called ADA-SCID, in which kids cannot make a crucial enzyme called adenosine deaminase that is needed to create immune system cells.

FORBES: Glaxo Brings Gene Therapy Back From The Dead

Originally the trials were considered a huge success when a number of patients were successfully treated for the X-linked Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome (X-Scid) which is more commonly known as the "Boy in the Bubble" syndrome.

BBC: Gene therapy 'causes leukaemia'

The idea of treating disease by replacing a defective gene with a working copy gained credence in 1990 with the success of the world's first gene therapy clinical tests against a rare condition called severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).

MSN: European regulators back first gene therapy drug