《设计婴儿》文章报导，两家去年成立、以胚胎基因编辑预防重症为目标的公司已先后停摆：Bootstrap Bio 于2025年底停止营运，Manhattan Genomics（又名 Manhattan Project）于2026年3月左右关闭。两家公司皆试图推动胚系编辑，目标是预防遗传病，但该技术未经证实为安全有效，且改动会遗传给后代，属「设计婴儿」伦理争议核心。至今已知2018 年有3名婴儿曾作胚胎基因编辑，导致国际社群震荡；该科研者 He Jiankui 被判3年监禁，突显法规与舆论风险与持续高压监督。
Bootstrap Bio 前CEO兼共同创办人 Chase Denecke 表示，公司在实验室有过一定正向结果，但无法吸引足够资金续营，现阶段仅保留存续而不再运作。该公司另遭遇高层危机：2025年8月其前首席科学家 Qichen Yuan 被联邦机关逮捕，面临联邦法院波士顿未遂儿童性贩运指控；Denecke称若及早得知便会提前解约。该人于2024年至2025年间以顾问身分参与。Manhattan Genomics 则于十月组建顾问团、十一月前后宣布创办新团队，之后短暂仅运作约4个月便结束，且未形成重大知识产权，且已将投资人资金返还。
Manhattan Genomics 的合伙冲突比资金问题更直接：共同创办人 Cathy Tie 引用「共同创办人分歧」关闭，而 Eriona Hysolli 指出其与「在开曼群岛设立、由其共同创办人另行治理」的同名实体并存，破坏治理透明。公开资料显示，该公司在9月向美国专利商标局提交申请，并列开曼群岛为关联LLC，与Hysolli说法形成认知差异。Hysolli 转而以防治遗传疾病预防为诉求推出新公司观点；此外，2026年10月第三家 Preventive 进场，宣布获得Brian Armstrong、Sam Altman与Oliver Mulherin 约3000万美元（约30 million美元）资助，显示市场对胚系编辑仍有资金追逐，但实际商业化仍不稳定。
A 2026-04-24 WIRED report says two embryo gene-editing startup companies—Bootstrap Bio and Manhattan Genomics (aka Manhattan Project)—have ceased operations after launching last year with plans to use human embryo editing to prevent serious inherited disease. The effort targets germline editing, which alters DNA in an embryo and passes changes to descendants, and remains medically unproven, ethically contested, and widely restricted in the U.S. and many countries. The article notes the field’s sensitivity by referencing the 2018 He Jiankui case involving 3 gene-edited children and his subsequent 3-year prison sentence for illegal medical conduct, showing how regulatory and reputational risk remains high.
Bootstrap Bio’s cofounder and CEO Chase Denecke told WIRED that the company had promising lab results but could not raise enough money, and it stopped active operations in late 2025. The firm was also hit by leadership turmoil: in 2025-08 its then-chief science officer Qichen Yuan was arrested and charged with attempted child sex trafficking in federal court in Boston. Denecke said he only learned of the charges after operations ended and said Yuan had worked as a contractor through 2024-2025. Manhattan Genomics announced a high-profile advisory team in October and a rapid pivot after funding strain, but it reportedly functioned for only about 4 months, produced no substantial intellectual property, and returned investor capital.
Founding conflicts, not only financing, were central to Manhattan Genomics’ shutdown. Cathy Tie publicly cited cofounder disagreement, while Eriona Hysolli described governance conflicts tied to a Cayman Islands entity sharing the company name and separate control structures; a September trademark filing at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office listed Cayman links. Both founders kept close ties to the broader germline debate, and the report notes that another firm, Preventive, emerged in 2026-10 with around $30 million (about 3,000) from Brian Armstrong, Sam Altman, and Oliver Mulherin, signaling continued investor interest despite repeated startup failures in this space.