Gene Therapy Group Agrees to Smaller Size, Less Authority

Extract

After a year on the sidelines, a federal oversight committee for gene therapy met again last month and wrestled not with its dissolution, as originally anticipated, but with what authority—if any—the committee has left.

After a year on the sidelines, a federal oversight committee for gene therapy met again last month and wrestled not with its dissolution, as originally anticipated, but with what authority—if any—the committee has left.

According to a Nov. 22 Federal Register notice, the RAC will lose its formal voting approval over individual gene therapy protocols, but will continue public review of novel and controversial gene-splicing experiments. The RAC's role in Varmus' proposed gene therapy policy conferences on controversial topics, such as in-utero gene therapy, remained less clear.

Earlier in the meeting, Varmus suggested that RAC members propose topics for these genetic conferences, but that the conferences would be run by outside experts in the field under discussion. However, several RAC members suggested the RAC reassert its authority by setting the agenda for these conferences and linking them to its own meetings.