Is China’s biotech boom at risk? Fear of policy backlash after death in gene-editing trial

The death of a six-year-old girl after receiving an experimental gene-editing therapy has been described by scientists as a tragedy that highlights the need to improve trial safeguards. But some in the biotechnology industry fear Chinese policymakers may curtail the regulatory flexibility that scientists have long enjoyed in initiating clinical trials – a key mechanism behind China’s competitive edge in frontier treatments. “I hope this tragedy does not have a lasting negative impact on China’s...