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The claim of a Chinese scientist that he would have created the first genetically modified babies in the world has highlighted what critics call lax regulatory controls and ethical standards behind a series of biomedical breakthroughs making the headlines. of news in China.
University professor He Jiankui said on Sunday that the binoculars' DNA had been modified to prevent them from contracting HIV, but his claims provoked a violent reaction from the scientific community that not only cast doubt on this advance, but also questioned his morality.
China is seeking to become a leader in the areas of genetic research and cloning, although others are hesitant about ethical issues.
The country's scientists were the first to carry out gene editing on human embryos in 2015, with mixed results, the British journal Nature reported in 2017. And earlier this year, Chinese scientists unveiled monkeys that were cloned using the same technique as Dolly the sheep two decades ago.
Although this procedure may stimulate medical research on human diseases, it has also raised ethical questions about the proximity of scientists to human cloning.
– & # 39; Head transplant & # 39; –
Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero sparked controversy last year claiming to have performed the world's first head transplant on a corpse in a Chinese hospital, reported the then state-run Global Times. that other scientists have described his remarks as disproportionate.
Sunday, himself, trained at Stanford University, announced in a YouTube video that he had used CRISPR, a technique that allows scientists to remove and replace a strand with extreme precision for change the DNA of the twins.
In the United States, the tool has not been used in human trials, although Chinese doctors have applied it to treating cancer patients.
Qiu Renzong, former vice president of the ethics committee of the Chinese Ministry of Health, accused him of having obtained a "fraudulent" evaluation by visiting another hospital instead of the other. to be approved by his own university, adding that it was destroying the reputation of Chinese scientists. .
Qiu said that a lack of regulation meant that scientists were often not subject to sanctions because they were required only to abide by the rules of their institutions, which can not stipulate penalties for misconduct.
"People say the ministry is toothless and can not bite people, so we try to give teeth to the ministry head so that they can bite people when people break the rules," he said. he told the press at a conference on gene editing in Hong Kong.
"The mainland is very protective of scientists, if you make a small mistake, it is the end of it, there is no punishment.I suggest that they should be punished. ", he added.
– Experience & # 39; Crazy & # 39; –
While a community of skeptical researchers is waiting for proof of its claims, the scientist is expected to speak at the same conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday and Thursday.
He, who works in a laboratory in Shenzhen city, in southern China, is also under scrutiny on the mainland. The National Health Commission has ordered the opening of an investigation into the case.
Tuesday, the Shenzhen Harmonicare Hospital for Children and Women said in a statement that he suspected the signing of a document endorsing the experience, including adherence to ethical standards, had been falsified and that she had asked the police to investigate.
A group of 122 Chinese scientists signed a joint statement calling the experiment "crazy" and saying it was unfair to other scientists who respect the "moral basic principle".
The South University of Science and Technology where he works said that he had been on leave without pay since February and that his research was "a serious violation of ethics and academic standards" .
A notice from the Shenzhen Medical Ethics Authority stated that all medical organizations should set up an ethics review board before undertaking biomedical research on humans, and that the committee should The ethics of the relevant hospital had not completed its registration as planned.
He defended his research in another video, claiming that he was trying to help families with genetic diseases.
"We think that ethics is part of our story, come back in the 1970s with Louise Brown, the same fears and criticisms are repeated now," he said, referring to the first person to be born by in vitro fertilization.
– $ 1 billion in industry –
According to UBS, China is the second largest genomics market in the world. Beijing-based CCID Consulting estimates that the value of the market will almost triple, from 7.2 billion yuan ($ 1 billion) in 2017 to 18.3 billion yuan ($ 2.6 billion) Here 2022.
Less stringent regulations have allowed China to progress in the biomedical field, said Michael Donovan, founder of Veraptus, a biotechnology company in China.
But other factors, such as a larger population providing a larger pool of potential patients, as well as regulatory support from the government have also played a role, Donovan said.
"In many sectors, regulations dictate that if there are no laws, they can proceed with caution," he added.
"And that's the cloudy area in which gene editing is right now."
While some hospitals may approve certain procedures without going through a national accreditation body, it was "very strange" not to have the green light from a national authority for such an experience. span, said Donovan.
"From an ethical point of view, you do not have the religious base we have in the United States," he said. "But it's still life, so people always worry that we're going too fast with that."
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