Cathy Tie, the 30-year-old founder of Origin Genomics, is making the business case for gene-editing human embryos. In a commentary in Trends in Genetics, she argues that preventing inherited disease through embryo editing is a "moral imperative" and calls for public funding and new regulatory pathways to move it toward clinical use. Her company launched in March with plans to offer gene-edited embryos through IVF clinics.
The pitch is that IVF alone often leaves families without enough viable embryos. The article cites Ian Watts and Cheyenne Ziegler, who went through three rounds of IVF to avoid passing on Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and ended up with only three usable embryos. Tie says editing could give such families more options, though she says it should not be used for trait enhancement.
Skeptics question the need. Stanford law professor Hank Greely says existing embryo screening already addresses most cases, leaving gene editing to help "a fraction of a fraction of a fraction." Safety is also unresolved: Columbia University researchers recently showed base editing can make precise changes in embryos, but also produced "undesirable consequences," leading them to conclude the technology is not ready for clinical use. Tie acknowledges it isn't ready, but argues it's close enough to start addressing legal and funding barriers. Her previous embryo-editing company, Manhattan Genomics, shut down earlier this year.