According to AFP, a statement from the School of Medicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University, China, on July 26 said that the school is investigating reports showing that a gene editing test led to the death of a 6-year-old girl - this information was not disclosed in the research publication.
A joint investigation by Science and Retraction Watch announced on July 23rd found that the baby girl, nicknamed "Mei", passed away last year, about 1 week after being transfused a spinal cord containing trillions of viruses designed to penetrate the brain for treatment. This experimental gene therapy aims to overcome a rare genetic condition that causes cognitive retardation.
Neuroscientist Zilong Qiu - the main researcher - published an article on related animal studies in the prestigious journal Nature without mentioning Mei.
In response, in a statement on July 26, the School of Medicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University affirmed that it "attaches special importance to the incident and has established a special working group to comprehensively investigate the incident".
The Medical School always values integrity in scientific research and research standards, and resolutely opposes the conduct of medical scientific research that violates scientific research ethics" - the statement emphasized.
The School of Medicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University also affirmed that strict handling measures will be implemented according to the investigation results.
Mei's parents, who spent more than $800,000 to fund the experiment, were not fully informed of the risks, according to reports from Science and Retraction Watch.
According to reports, neuroscientist Zilong Qiu is aiming to provide the world's first gene editing therapy aimed at the brain, rewriting gene mutations in Mei's nerve cells so that it can create an important protein.
The incident is the latest scandal in China after the 2018 scandal involving He Jiankui - a biophysicist who secretly created gene-edited babies.
