Tech billionaires back startup probing gene-edited designer babies despite US ban: report

A Silicon Valley startup backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong is pursuing research that some fear could lead to the birth of a genetically engineered baby — a step that’s illegal under US law and banned in most countries, a report said.The company, Preventive, says its goal is to end hereditary disease by editing human embryos before birth, a claim that has ignited fierce debate over safety, ethics and the specter of designer children, according to the Wall Street Journal.Preventive, founded earlier this year by gene-editing scientist Lucas Harrington, has raised $30 million and set up headquarters in San Francisco, where it is conducting research on modifying embryos to prevent hereditary disease.The company says its mission is to prove the technology can be made safe and transparent before any attempt to create a baby is made.Altman and Armstrong are among the firm’s early investors, the Wall Street Journal reported.Altman’s husband, Oliver Mulherin, said he led their investment, calling it an effort to help families avoid genetic illness.Armstrong, who has publicly promoted embryo editing, posted that he was “excited” to back Preventive and argued it is far easier to correct a genetic defect in an embryo than to treat disease later in life.But federal law prohibits the Food and Drug Administration from considering applications for human trials involving genetically edited embryos used to start pregnancies.Harrington, who earned his doctorate under CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna, denied that Preventive is preparing to implant an edited embryo or working with a couple to do so.He said the company’s focus is preclinical research on whether editing embryos can be done safely.“We are not trying to rush things,” Harrington told the Journal.“We are committed to transparency in our research and will publish our findings, whether positive or negative.”People familiar with Preventive’s operations told the Journal that the...