The International Commission on the Clinical Use of Human Germline Genome Editing is tasked with identifying the scientific, medical, and ethical requirements to consider when assessing potential clinical applications of human germline genome editing — if society concludes that heritable human genome editing applications are acceptable. As part of its information-gathering process, the commission has issued a call for evidence. Responses are due by Sept. 27.
The call for evidence includes several questions that invite broad input; others are more technical in nature. It is being distributed to researchers and professional societies for genetic technologies and reproductive medicine, bioethics forums, patient community organizations, and others. Interested members of the public are also encouraged to participate.
The U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society of the United Kingdom are serving as secretariats of the commission, with the participation of science and medical academies around the world. The commission’s first public meeting was held Aug. 13 in Washington, D.C. An international workshop, which is being hosted by the Royal Society, will be held in London on Nov. 14-15.
More information on the commission, including its membership, statement of task, and archived video of the Aug. 13 meeting, is available here.
Journalists who would like more information should contact:
Bronwyn Friedlander
Press Office
The Royal Society
press@royalsociety.org
+44 (0)207 451 2514
Molly Galvin
Office of News and Public Information
U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
news@nas.edu
+1 202-334-2138
The International Commission on the Clinical Use of Human Germline Genome Editing has been convened by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine (NAM), the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and the Royal Society of the U.K., with the participation of science and medical academies around the world, to develop a framework for scientists, clinicians, and regulatory authorities to consider when assessing potential clinical applications of human germline genome editing. The framework will identify a number of scientific, medical, and ethical requirements that should be considered, and could inform the development of a potential pathway from research to clinical use — if society concludes that heritable human genome editing applications are acceptable.
