A new wave of genetically engineered babies could be closer than we think, with a Silicon Valley startup leading the charge and prominent tech billionaires providing crucial financial backing.
The Startup and Its Mission
Preventive, a public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco, aims to eliminate hereditary diseases by editing human embryos before birth. Founded earlier this year by gene-editing scientist Lucas Harrington, the company has already secured $30 million in funding from influential tech investors.
Harrington announced the company's formation on X, stating: 'We believe that if proven safe, this could be one of the most important health technologies of our lifetimes.'
He emphasised that while embryo editing offers significant advantages in precision, efficiency and cost, the technology carries enormous responsibility that requires careful research and regulatory oversight.
Tech Billionaires as Godparents
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Coinbase's Brian Armstrong are among the early investors backing this controversial venture.
Armstrong expressed his enthusiasm on X, writing: 'More than 300 million people globally live with genetic disease. Foundational research should be done to determine if safe and effective therapies can be developed to cure these diseases at birth.'
The tech executive argued that correcting a smaller number of cells in an embryo before disease progression occurs represents a more efficient approach to tackling genetic conditions.
Ethical Concerns and Legal Landscape
This initiative echoes the controversial work of Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who created the world's first gene-edited babies in 2018 - twins modified to resist HIV. He served three years in prison for illegal medical practices.
Following this incident, numerous American researchers called for a global temporary suspension on all clinical uses of germline editing. In 2019, U.S. senators proposed international standards to 'prevent unethical researchers from moving to whichever country has the loosest regulations.'
While U.S. federal law prohibits using public funds for human germline gene therapy research, private funding remains legal. However, any therapy would require FDA approval before clinical use or marketing.
The technology raises significant ethical questions about consent and unforeseen consequences, since the individuals affected cannot choose whether to undergo the treatment.
Preventive maintains that its mission focuses on determining through rigorous preclinical work whether preventive gene editing can be developed safely. The company states that if research shows it cannot be done safely, that conclusion would be equally valuable.
