Century Report arc
Genome Editing & Heritable Modification Governance
The international moratorium on human germline modification has always been a coordination agreement rather than an enforceable prohibition, and it has not been revisited since the 2018 gene-edited babies case. The arc tracks attempts to commercialise heritable modification and the governance response, or the absence of one.
- Status
- Active
- Developments
- 1
- Last 30 days
- 0
- Last covered
Current synthesis
Where it stands
Cathy Tie - ex-wife of jailed He Jiankui - currently holds the initiative, having announced (05-30) a New York, venture-backed startup openly pursuing commercial human germline editing for cystic fibrosis, Huntington's, and hereditary cancers. The international moratorium remains the only restraint, but Tie reframes it as mere coordination, not prohibition - 'there is no way to stop this' - and no regulator on record has yet answered the challenge.
Complete record
Development timeline
1 qualifying development, newest first
May 2026
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[DD+POD] Cathy Tie, whose ex-husband He Jiankui was jailed in China for the 2018 gene-edited babies, publicly announced a New York-based venture-backed startup to pursue commercial human germline modification targeting cystic fibrosis, Huntington's, and hereditary cancers; framed the international moratorium as coordination rather than prohibition: "there is no way to stop this."