Chinese university investigates six‑year‑old’s death allegedly tied to experimental gene‑editing therapy
Shanghai Jiao Tong University is investigating the death of a six-year-old girl following an experimental gene-editing therapy that was not disclosed in subsequent research. The lead scientist allegedly failed to report the adverse outcome in a published paper, raising serious ethical and integrity concerns.
Why it matters
The incident highlights critical ethical lapses in medical research and the potential risks associated with unregulated or poorly disclosed gene-editing trials.
BEIJING, July 26 — A Chinese university is looking into reports that a gene-editing trial caused the death of a six-year-old girl, which was not disclosed in the published research, the school said today.
The girl, given the pseudonym “Mei”, died last year around a week after receiving a spinal infusion of trillions of viruses designed to penetrate the brain for treatment, according to a joint investigation by Science and Retraction Watch.
The experimental gene therapy was meant to fix a rare genetic condition that caused a delay in cognitive development, the report said on Thursday.
Neuroscientist Zilong Qiu, the lead researcher, went on to publish a paper on related animal studies in the prestigious journal Nature that made no mention of Mei.
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