Death of girl in Chinese gene-editing trial kept secret: report

A six-year-old Chinese girl died last year after receiving an experimental gene therapy to correct a non-life-threatening condition, according to an investigation by Science and Retraction Watch published Thursday. The report said the girl, given the pseudonym Mei, died a week after receiving a spinal infusion of viruses last March designed to treat Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome, a rare genetic condition causing mild cognitive impairment. Mei's parents paid more than US$800,000 to fund the experiment led by neuroscientist Zilong Qiu, but the report said they were not adequately informed about the risks. Seven experts who reviewed the details for the investigation said Qiu and his team downplayed the trial's risks and proceeded despite low odds of success. The experts also called for a full review of data submitted for a related Nature paper published by Qiu that made no mention of Mei's death. The previously undisclosed death raises questions about whether such risky treatments should be initially tested on patients with nonfatal conditions. The case follows the 2018 scandal involving biophysicist He Jiankui, who secretly produced gene-edited babies, and represents a fresh blow to China's biotech ambitions.