China orders probe into first ‘gene-edited babies’

Chinese officials and scientists have denounced the claims of a geneticist who said he had created the first gene-edited babies.

Authorities have ordered an investigation as a hospital linked to the research suggested its ethical approval had been forged.

The National Health Commission said on Monday it was “highly concerned” and had ordered provincial health officials “to immediately investigate and clarify the matter” Aljazeera reported.

The government’s medical ethics committee in Shenzhen said it was investigating the case, as was the Guangdong provincial health commission, according to Southern Metropolis Daily, a state media outlet.

More than 100 scientists said in an open letter the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit the genes of human embryos was risky, unjustified and harmed the reputation and development of the biomedical community in China.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that allows scientists to essentially cut-and-paste DNA, raising hope of genetic fixes for diseases. However, there are also concerns about its safety and ethics.

In videos posted online, scientist He Jiankui defended what he said he had achieved – embryonic gene editing to help protect twin baby girls born this month from infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“Pandora’s box has been opened. We still might have a glimmer of hope to close it before it’s too late,” the scientists said in their letter, a copy of which was posted by the Chinese news website the Paper.

“The biomedical ethics review for this so-called research exists in name only. Conducting direct human experiments can only be described as crazy,” the Chinese-language letter, signed by approximately 120 scientists, says.

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Yang Zhengang, a Fudan University professor, told Reuters he signed the letter because gene editing was “very dangerous”.

The signatures on the online form were suspected of having been forged and “no relevant meeting of the Medical Ethics Committee of the hospital, in fact took place”, Hong Kong-listed Harmonicare Medical Holdings said in a statement.

The Southern University of Science and Technology, where He holds an associate professorship, also said it had been unaware of the research project and that He had been on leave without pay since February.

The Shenzhen City Science and Innovation Committee, a municipal fund which was also listed on the clinical trial registry as having backed the trial, said in a statement on Monday it had never been involved in the project.

Xu Nanping, vice minister in China’s science and technology ministry, told reporters he was “very shocked” on hearing He’s claim, adding that such work had been prohibited since 2003.