Shanghai University Investigates Gene-Editing Trial After 6-Year-Old Girl Dies
The family paid $860,000 for the experimental treatment, and researchers allegedly omitted the girl’s death and funding from the Nature paper.
- On Monday, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine announced a comprehensive investigation into an experimental gene-editing trial led by neuroscientist Zilong Qiu at Xinhua Hospital, where a 6-year-old girl named Mei died after treatment.
- The girl's parents paid more than $860,000 to fund the trial, hoping to treat Mei's Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome, but she died from a severe immune reaction after researchers ignored warning signs that emerged in animal studies.
- Researchers omitted Mei's death from a study published in Nature, despite the hospital's ethics board concluding the fatality was "definitely related" to the treatment, according to an investigation by Science Magazine and Retraction Watch.
- Nature added an editor's note on July 29 to investigate the paper's data, while the medical school established a special task force to probe the incident after the family demanded action.
- Experts warn that this case demonstrates persistent gaps in regulatory transparency and safety, drawing comparisons to the 2018 He Jiankui scandal as China's biomedical industry expands.
43 Articles
43 Articles
The Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine has launched an investigation after the death of a girl who was taking part in an experimental gene therapy clinical trial. The case has sparked an outcry over alleged ethical irregularities, lack of oversight and allegations that parents were not adequately informed of the risks of the treatment.
Exaggerated belief in progress, ambitious doctors, and lax scientific oversight have plunged a family in Shanghai into tragedy. It is not the first time that China's genetic research has been under fire. Source link: https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/gentherapie-in-china-warum-starb-das-maedchen-mei-a-4fc4f01a-7810-4267-9f58-a7e1442a458d#ref=rss Author: Publish date: 2026-08-02 09:27:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked source.
Excessive belief in progress, ambitious physicians and lax science inspectorates have plunged a family into disaster in Shanghai. It is not the first time that China's genetic research has been pillory.
An investigation by the journal 的Science and the specialized website Retraction Watch, published on 23 July, reveals that the clinical trial would have breached many ethical and safety rules. ...
Shanghai child’s death raises questions over experimental therapy rules
The investigation into a fatal experimental gene-editing trial at Shanghai’s Xinhua Hospital has become a test of whether China’s regulatory system can keep pace with the rapid expansion of its biomedical industry. Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine has formed a working group to examine the trial and a related scientific paper. The inquiry follows reports that a young girl died days after receiving an experimental treatment intended…
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