Chinese university investigating girl's death in gene-editing trial

A Chinese university said Sunday it is investigating reports that a gene-editing trial caused the death of a six-year-old girl, which was not disclosed in published research. Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine said in a statement that it attaches great importance to the matter and has set up a special working group to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the incident. 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 published Thursday. The experimental gene therapy was meant to fix a rare genetic condition that caused a delay in cognitive development. Neuroscientist Zilong Qiu, the lead researcher, published a paper on related animal studies in the journal Nature that made no mention of Mei. The university said it firmly opposes conducting medical scientific research in violation of scientific research ethics and that serious action would be taken in accordance with the investigation's findings. Mei's parents, who paid more than $800,000 to fund the experiment, were not adequately informed about the risks, the report said. The previously undisclosed death is a fresh blow to China's ambitions to rival the United States as a biotech power following the 2018 scandal around He Jiankui.