The US Academies of Sciences and Medicine, the Royal Society, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences convened a summit of experts in biology, medicine, law, ethics, sociology, and journalism, in December 2015 to review the state of the art in gene editing technology and discuss the medical and social ramifications of the technologies. The summit concluded with the following consensus recommendations: (1) intensive basic and preclinical research in animal and human models should proceed with appropriate legal and ethical oversight; (2) clinical applications in somatic cells must be rigorously evaluated within existing and evolving regulatory frameworks for gene therapy; (3) it would be irresponsible to proceed with any clinical use of germline editing until relevant safety and efficacy issues have been resolved and there is broad societal consensus about such a use; and (4) the international community should strive to establish generally acceptable uses of human germline editing.
Keywords: DNA; Embryo; Germline; Inheritable disease; Reproductive rights; Stem cells.