A Chinese biophysicist jailed for creating the world’s first genetically modified baby said on Tuesday that he was looking for collaborators after Hong Kong granted him a research visa, to the consternation of the scientific community.
He Jiankui was jailed in 2019 for illegal experimentation on human embryos in a controversial exercise that saw twin girls born with genes that had been modified to give them immunity to HIV.
‘Consider working in Hong Kong’
“I am currently contacting Hong Kong universities, scientific research organizations and companies,” the 39-year-old told reporters in Beijing.
“If there is a definite and suitable opportunity, I will consider working in Hong Kong,” he said, adding that he would like to continue his work on “gene therapy for rare diseases”.
At the weekend, the scientist – who was released in April last year – announced he had been granted a visa under a scheme aimed at attracting talent to Hong Kong.
Kiran Musunuru, a leading professor of genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, said he was “surprised” by the Chinese semi-autonomous city’s decision.
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“He Jiankui is a convicted criminal,” he told AFP, and “incompetent as a scientist”.
“Experimenting on children and causing genetic damage, as they did, in my opinion is a form of child abuse.”
‘Interrupted medical order’
Chinese scientists stunned the scientific community in 2018 by announcing the birth of genetically engineered twins. A third child who had undergone gene editing was born the following year.
After international condemnation, He, who studied at Stanford University, was arrested in December 2019 by a Chinese court and fined three million yuan ($430,000).
The court said he had “illegally edited the genes of human embryos for reproduction”, Chinese state media reported at the time.
Two of He’s fellow researchers were also sentenced in 2019. Zhang Renli was sentenced to two years in prison and fined one million yuan, while Qin Jinzhou was given 18 months, suspended for two years, and fined 500,000 yuan.
The trio had not obtained the qualifications to work as doctors and deliberately violated China’s regulations and ethical principles, according to the court ruling, Xinhua news agency said.
He acted “in pursuit of fame and profit” and “disrupted the medical order”, he added.