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Gene Editing Dreams Go Bust for Two US Startups
24 Apr
Summary
- Two ambitious gene-editing embryo startups have ceased operations.
- Funding challenges and co-founder disputes contributed to shutdowns.
- Germline editing remains controversial and is currently prohibited.
Two U.S. companies, Manhattan Genomics and Bootstrap Bio, that pursued the controversial goal of editing human embryos to prevent serious diseases have recently ceased operations. Bootstrap Bio announced its cessation of operations in late 2025, while Manhattan Genomics closed abruptly shortly after announcing its scientific advisory team in October.
Both companies faced significant challenges. Bootstrap Bio's CEO cited a lack of investor interest as the primary reason for running out of money. Manhattan Genomics' co-founder attributed their shutdown to a co-founder conflict. These failures highlight the difficulties in advancing germline editing, a technique that carries ethical concerns and is currently prohibited in the U.S. and numerous other countries.
The science of germline editing, which involves making heritable changes to DNA at the embryo level, is still unproven and carries risks of unintended edits. Concerns also exist that the technology could be misused for enhancement purposes, leading to the creation of 'designer babies.' The specter of gene-edited babies was revisited after Chinese scientist He Jiankui's infamous 2018 experiment, which resulted in three gene-edited children and led to his imprisonment.
