Scientist He Jiankui said he would consider an invitation from a Silicon Valley investor to help establish a research company focused on Alzheimer's disease .
He Jiankui shocked the world in 2018 when he created the world's first gene-edited babies. On July 25, he said he was considering an offer to work in the US.
SCMP quoted Ha Kien Khue speaking at an online roundtable that an investor from Silicon Valley offered $1 million to help establish a company in the US focusing on gene editing technology to Prevent Alzheimer's disease.
"It is a very interesting proposal and I will consider it. I will be happy to work in the US if there is a good opportunity" - he said at a round table organized by MIT Technology Review magazine.
At the end of 2019, a court in China sentenced He Jiankui to 3 years in prison and a fine of 430,000 USD for violating ethical regulations and principles when illegally editing genes to give birth to three children.
He Jiankui has struggled to regain his footing in the research community since his release from prison in 2022.
In addition to a laboratory in Wuhan, central China , He Jiankui said he has also opened a relatively new and independent facility in Sanya, the southern island province of Hainan, with funding from investors. sponsor US and Chinese companies.
During the roundtable meeting, He Kien Khue revealed that someone from "a small Eastern European country" and an island nation invited him to continue his research there, but he refused these offers. "I need to research in the US and China or other big countries" - he said.
Ha Kien Khue was educated in the US, holds a PhD from Rice University and post-doctoral research at Stanford University. Ha Kien Khue said he decided to research Alzheimer's disease because his mother suffered from the disease.
He proposes using a relatively new gene editing technology, called base editing, to introduce a specific gene mutation into human embryos to combat the most common cause of dementia.
Ha Kien Khue emphasized that his work will be limited to mice, monkeys and non-viable human embryos, with no intention of implanting the embryos to create a pregnancy or any subsequent children. The basic research part can be completed in two years.
However, he is unclear when this technology can be put into human trials, that will depend on society.
According to He Jiankui, embryo editing is banned in China and the US, as well as some other countries, but "will be as common as in vitro fertilization " in 50 years. All babies will be born without known diseases, he added.
"I believe that society will eventually accept that gene editing is a good thing, because it improves human health. I am waiting for society to accept that" - Ha Kien Khue said.
