Der Tod eines sechsjährigen Mädchens nach der weltweit ersten Gen-Editing-Therapie am Gehirn – und die anschließende Vertuschung

On July 23, 2026, a joint investigation by Science and Retraction Watch revealed a deeply troubling story: a six-year-old girl, identified only by the pseudonym "Mei", died in March 2025 after receiving an experimental gene-editing therapy — and her death was never publicly disclosed . The therapy was administered by neuroscientist Qiu Zilong at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Here is a detailed account of the case and its aftermath.

What happened

The therapy was described as the world's first base-editing therapy directed at the brain, targeting a CHD3 gene mutation associated with Snijders-Blok-Campeau syndrome, a rare condition that causes developmental delay . In March 2025, the girl received a spinal infusion of trillions of virus particles carrying the gene-editing machinery at Xinhua Hospital, a university-affiliated hospital in Shanghai . She died within a week of treatment, reportedly from a severe immune reaction linked to the therapy .

The concealment

The girl's death was never publicly reported. The research team published a paper in Nature in February 2025 claiming successful gene editing in a clinical trial, without disclosing the patient's death . The paper described preclinical work for a gene-editing treatment for Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome but omitted any mention of the fatal outcome . Nature has since added an editor's note to the paper and launched its own investigation, though the notice is explicitly not a retraction .

The financial aspect

The girl's parents raised approximately $860,000 to fund the treatment . According to the investigation, the family paid for the therapy's development and clinical administration, and were reportedly not fully informed of the risks involved .

Investigations launched

• Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine established a task force to investigate the incident, stating it will "strictly abide by scientific ethics and research integrity" .
• Nature is investigating concerns surrounding the related paper and has added an editor's note .
• Chinese regulatory authorities are also reported to be reviewing the case .

As of the latest reports, all three investigations are open and unresolved. No formal finding of misconduct has been announced .

Broader implications

The case has drawn immediate comparisons to the 2018 He Jiankui gene-edited babies scandal and has raised serious questions about regulatory oversight, informed consent, and ethical accountability in China's biomedical research sector . The investigation has also highlighted the intense global race to turn base editors — a more precise form of the CRISPR gene-editing tool — into clinical therapies for rare diseases, and the risks that can arise when scientific ambition outpaces ethical safeguards .