在2018年贺建奎秘密宣布诞生全球首例基因编辑婴儿之后，如今硅谷亿万富翁资助的新公司正推动该领域发展。例如，美国初创企业Preventive已通过创始人Lucas Harrington在X平台宣布筹集了3000万美元，资金主要来自科技精英如Coinbase的Brian Armstrong和OpenAI负责人Sam Altman的丈夫Oliver Mulherin。Preventive初期计划专注于使用CRISPR进行胚胎编辑的安全性研究，目标是预防严重遗传病。除Preventive外，像Manhattan Genomics和Bootstrap Bio等公司也在开展相关工作，引发讨论是否人类拥有编辑胚胎、应用新兴技术的道德义务。
CRISPR技术由Doudna和Charpentier于2012年开发，2020年获得诺贝尔化学奖，已彻底改变生物学领域，首个获批基因编辑疗法Casgevy用于治愈镰状细胞贫血症，每剂收费约200万美元。胚胎阶段应用基因编辑有望大幅降低成本，Harrington估算每个胚胎花费有望降至5000美元，并能简化问题解决流程。但技术仍存在巨大不确定性，包括修复过程中新突变风险、不能保证治愈一种疾病时不会增加另一种风险，以及改动可能遗传至后代，带来难以预测的影响。
目前美国监管如FDA禁止试验胚胎编辑，Preventive也承诺若安全性未达标将不推进临床，但国际上如阿联酋等地也被考虑为潜在试验地点。科学界普遍反对人类胚胎编辑，但随着基础编辑等CRISPR新技术提升了安全性和效率，这种抵制可能会逐渐减弱。伦敦科学家Lovell-Badge警示硅谷“先做再说”的态度不可随意应用于人类，因为后续风险不可控。
After He Jiankui’s secret creation of the world’s first gene-edited babies in 2018, new efforts in this field are being driven by billionaire-backed startups, notably in Silicon Valley. For example, American startup Preventive announced via founder Lucas Harrington on X that it has raised $30 million from tech elites such as Brian Armstrong of Coinbase and Oliver Mulherin, husband of OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Preventive’s initial focus is on researching the safety of CRISPR-based embryo editing with the eventual goal of preventing severe genetic diseases. Other companies, including Manhattan Genomics and Bootstrap Bio, are joining the field, stirring debate over whether humanity has an obligation to utilize such technology.
CRISPR, invented by Doudna and Charpentier in 2012 and Nobel Prize-winning in 2020, has revolutionized biology. Its first licensed therapeutic, Casgevy, cures sickle-cell disease at a cost of about $2 million per dose. Editing embryos could potentially reduce costs to an estimated $5,000 per embryo, according to Harrington, and streamline certain treatment bottlenecks. However, the technology carries significant uncertainties, such as the risk of new mutations, inability to ensure changes for one disease do not cause another, and the possibility of edits passing to future generations with unpredictable effects.
Currently, regulatory bodies like the FDA prohibit embryo editing trials, and Preventive pledges not to proceed without proven safety, though countries such as the United Arab Emirates are being considered for future trials. While most scientists oppose human embryo editing, advancements like base editing may weaken resistance by improving safety and efficacy. Robin Lovell-Badge from London warns that Silicon Valley’s “move fast and break things” philosophy is dangerous for human applications, given the uncontrollable downstream risks involved.