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China faces gene-editing trial scrutiny after child’s death
The girl identified as Mei died days after receiving an experimental, bespoke gene-editing therapy designed to target a neurodevelopmental genetic mutation.
A Chinese gene-editing case involving the death of a six-year-old girl is renewing focus on clinical trial safeguards and oversight, according to reporting by SCMP Economy.
Scientists described the death as a tragedy that points to shortcomings in risk assessment, transparency, and institutional oversight, especially for first-in-human gene-editing treatments in children.
In an interview with SCMP Economy, Wang Haoran, chief executive of Neoland Biosciences in Shandong province, said he fears the incident could trigger a regulatory backlash that curtails the flexibility that researchers have used to start investigator-initiated clinical trials, a system he links to China’s rapid progress in frontier areas.
SCMP Economy also reported that the girl, identified as Mei, died days after receiving a bespoke therapy in March last year, and that a joint investigation by Retraction Watch and the journal Science was published on July 23.