ARRIGE - ethics in genome editing technologies

On March 23, 2018 the international “Association for Responsible Research and Innovation in Genome Editing” (ARRIGE) was launched to promote a global governance of genome editing.

ARRIGE aims at providing a comprehensive setting for all stakeholders (academics, private companies, patient organizations, citizens, decision makers) regarding the ethics in genome editing technologies.

This meeting in Paris was the continuation of several workshops, to find common means to address the ethical and societal issues raised by the rapid introduction of genome editing technologies. KIMM was represented by Stephan Teglund, Head of Karolinska Center for Transgene Technologies (KCTT).

- I found the meeting very interesting and much of the discussions concerned the potential impact of this gene editing technique that goes far beyond today’s use in basic research. The future implications on society have only started to be recognized and there is a huge information gap towards the general public but also towards politicians and other decision-makers. One major challenge for the future is the need for education and dissemination of knowledge regarding gene editing and what risks and benefits it can bring, says Stephan Teglund.

More than 35 countries were represented, including several countries from Africa, Asia and Central and South-America. There were several lectures; for example the ethicist Mylène Botbol-Baum from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, delivered a talk on ”Taking seriously the anthropological and societal impact of genome editing technologies”, where she presented several aspects on the conversation of genome editing with the society. She referred to the common use of metaphores and the conflict of narratives when trying to communicate these scientific advances.

On the ARRIGE web site you can find more information, materials, talks, web resources, publications, pictures and documents: http://arrige.org.