Early trials have shown promise in treating sickle-cell anaemia, a disease caused by a faulty haemoglobin gene.

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Sickle-cell anaemia, caused by genes protect against malaria, is the most famous example.

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In the 1950s Anthony Allison, a British biochemist, observed that Africans who carry a single copy of the genetic mutation that causes sickle-cell anaemia are protected against malaria.

ECONOMIST: Genetics and infectious disease: The germ of an idea | The

Poloxamer 188 has already been tested in humans with sickle cell anaemia and was found to be safe in the short term - 24 hours of use.

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