Open Letter: Research on gene drive technology can benefit conservation and public health

As a global community, we are facing life-threatening challenges that undermine our future, from catastrophic loss of biodiversity to acute public health threats.

Malaria cases are on the rise again after decades of progress, and fragile ecosystems are undergoing intensifying rates of extinctions. These challenges require new and complementary tools if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Aichi Targets^[i].

As the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meets for the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) in Egypt in November, decision-makers from countries around the world will have an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of enabling research to support responsible innovation and evidence-based decision-making.

Closing the door on research by creating arbitrary barriers, high uncertainty, and open-ended delays will significantly limit our ability to provide answers to the questions policy-makers, regulators and the public are asking. The moratorium suggested at CBD on field releases would prevent the full evaluation of the potential uses of gene drive. Instead, the feasibility and modalities of any field evaluation should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Much of the progress we have made in the past century in improving the livelihoods and wellbeing of communities around the world is the result of increased knowledge acquired through scientific research. Science has not brought solutions to all our problems, but improved understanding and evidence have been key to progress. Innovations in vaccines, for example, have saved millions of lives: the 74% percent reduction in childhood deaths from measles over the past decade is a demonstration of the life-changing power of scientific research ^[ii].

Gene drive is a well-established field of research. First observed in the 1920s in mice and Drosophila, gene drive is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has been the subject of investigation for many years. Recent advances in gene editing tools have allowed notable progress in the two years since gene drive was first discussed at CBD, helping deliver increased knowledge and greater understanding of the possible applications of gene drive, while shedding further light on its risks, limitations, and potential.

While these advances are important, there is still much more to be achieved before any gene drive organisms could be considered for regulatory evaluation. Key institutions, such as the African Union, have called for continued work in this field, emphasising the value of the opportunity and the need for informed case-by-case assessment of this technology by national authorities ^[iii].

Scientists, alongside regulatory experts, funders and sponsors of the research, are working together to ensure research is carried out safely and responsibly, by building on previous experiences, using published policy and information, and putting in place monitoring and containment systems to prevent accidental releases ^{[iv] [v]}. Ongoing discussions are also taking place to determine suitable conditions for field evaluations.

Member States can enable the Convention on Biological Diversity to be a platform for knowledge and experience sharing. We should not decide against the use of a tool before potential costs and benefits can be fully evaluated. We urge governments to ensure the decisions taken at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s next meeting do not amount to a moratorium on gene drive research, but instead offer a balanced and constructive way forward for Parties to learn and monitor this field of research.

Click below to view the Open Letter:

Signed ^[1]:

Prof. Austin Burt, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics Imperial College London, UK Principal Investigator, Target Malaria	Prof. Andrea Crisanti, Professor of Molecular Parasitology Imperial College London, UK	Dr Alekos Simoni, Research Associate, Imperial College London, UK
Dr. Roya E. Haghighat-Khah, Research Associate, Imperial College London, UK	Prof. Steven Russell Professor of Genome Biology, Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK	Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Ruth Müller, Head of the Unit, Medical Entomology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium Chief Manager, Genetics and Ecology Platform, PoloGGB, Italy
Brian B. Tarimo, Research Scientist-Vector Biology & Parasitology, Department of Environmental Health and Ecological Sciences, Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania	Prof. Claudia Emerson, PhD, Director, Institute on Ethics & Policy for Innovation, Associate Professor, Philosophy McMaster University, Canada	Prof. Neil Ferguson, Director, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis Head, Dept. of Infectious Disease Epidemiology Vice-Dean (Academic Development), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK
Greta Immobile Molaro,  Chief Executive Officer, Polo d’Innovazione Genomica, Genetica e Biologia, Italy	Prof. Barry Stoddard, Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, USA	Raymond J. Monnat, Jr. M.D., Professor of Pathology and Genome Sciences, Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering, University of Washington, USA
Nora J. Besansky, O’Hara Professor of Biology, Department of Biological Sciences & Eck Institute of Global Health, University of Notre Dame, USA	Professor Sir Charles Godfray FRS, Oxford University, UK	Dr. Jonathan Kayondo Senior Research Officer/ Ag HoD  Division of Entomology, Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda
Mamadou Coulibaly University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Mali	Dr. Nikolai Windbichler, Lecturer, Imperial College London, UK Principal Investigator, Transmission: Zero	Prof. George Christophides, Professor of Infectious Diseases & Immunity, Imperial College London, UK Principal Investigator, Transmission: Zero
Prof. Abdallah Daar Professor of Clinical Public Health and Global Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto, Canada	Kevin M. Esvelt Assistant Professor Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA	Roberta Spaccapelo Department of Experimental Medicine University of Perugia Italy
Dr. Diabate Abdoulaye Chef de Bureau liaison recherche développement de la Direction Régionale de l’Ouest de l’IRSS, Burkina Faso Maitre de Recherche Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques Principal Investigator, Target Malaria Burkina Faso	Dr. Charles Mbogo Chief Research Scientist Kemri-Wellcome Trust Research Programme	Brian Richard Lovett Department of Entomology University of Maryland USA
Angus Parker Board Chair Island Conservation	Tim Allard Acting Chief Executive Australian Wildlife Conservancy Australia	Dr. John Godwin Department of Biological Sciences North Carolina State University USA
Dr. Jason A. Delborne Associate Professor Genetic Engineering and Society Center North Carolina State University USA	Dr. Karl Campbell South America Regional Director Island Conservation Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents Steering Committee	Prof. Beth Shapiro Professor University of California Santa Cruz USA
Prof. David Threadgill Distinguished Professor of Molecular and Cellular Medicine Texas A & M University USA	Prof. Anthony.A. James University of California Irvine Malaria Initiative USA Tata Institute for Genetics and Society	Dr. John Marshall Assistant Professor University of California Berkeley School of Public Health USA
Dr. Omar S. Akbari Division of Biological Sciences Section of Cell and Developmental Biology University of California San Diego,  USA	Prof. Paul Thomas University of Adelaide, Australia	Dr. Jerome Amir Singh Ethical, Legal, Social Issues Advisory Services on Global Health Research and Development South Africa
Dr. Abraham Mnzava Senior Malaria Coordinator African Leaders Malaria Alliance	Prof. Luke Alphey Group Leader, Arthropod Genetics Pirbright Institute, UK	Dr. Leonard Mboera Southern African Center for Infectious Disease Surveillance Tanzania
David Hartwell Acting Board Chair Wildlife Land Trust (Humane Society of the US) Board Vice Chair National Audubon Society USA	Dr. Hirotaka Kanuka Professor and Chair Department of Tropical Medicine Jikei University School of Medicine Japan	Victoria Seaver Dean President Seaver Institute USA
Dr. S. Patrick Kachur, MD, MPH Professor of Population and Family Health Columbia University Medical Center USA	Prof. Kevin Marsh Professor of Tropical Medicine University of Oxford UK Senior Adviser African Academy of Sciences	Dr. Edward Katongole-Mbidde Scientist Uganda Virus Research Institute Uganda
Prof. Paulo Paes de Andrade Professor of Genetics Federal University of Pernambuco Brazil	Prof. Pontiano Kaleebu Director Uganda Virus Research Institute Uganda	Dr. Shaibal Kumar Dasgupta Tata Institute for Genetics and Society India
Michael Gottlieb Associate Director of Science, Retired Foundation for the National Institutes of Health USA	Prof. Tom Burkot Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine James Cook University Australia	Prof. Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Malaria Research Institute USA
Dr. Laurence Slutsker Director Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases Center for Malaria Control and Elimination PATH	Dr. Gregory Lanzaro Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology School of Veterinary Medicine University of California Davis USA	Prof. Ethan Bier University of California San Diego USA Tata Institute for Genetics and Society India University of California Irvine Malaria Initiative USA
Dr. Suresh Subramani Distinguished Professor Division of Biological Sciences University of California San Diego USA	Prof. Sir Brian Greenwood CBE, FRS Manson Professor of Clinical Tropical Medicine London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine UK	Prof. Ingrid M. Parker Professor and Chair Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Santa Cruz USA
Prof. Azra Ghani Chair in Infectious Disease Epidemiology Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health Imperial College London UK	Dr. Tony Nolan Senior Research Fellow Imperial College London UK	Prof. Paul Lasko, FRSC Department of Biology McGill University Canada
Prof. Anne Dell CBE FRS FMedSci Head Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London UK	Dr. Laurie Zoloth Margaret E. Burton Professor Senior Advisor to the Provost Programs in Social Ethics University of Chicago USA	Prof. Michael Bonsall University of Oxford UK
Allan Ronald OC OM MD FRSC, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba Canada	Dr. Charles Mugoya Chairperson, National Biosafety Committee Uganda National Council for Science and Technology Uganda	Prof. Zach N. Adelman Professor and Presidential Impact Fellow Department of Entomology Texas A&M University USA
Dr. Paul Ndebele Senior Research Regulatory Specialist Office of Research Excellence George Washington University USA	Dr. Philippos A Papathanos Senior Lecturer  Department of Entomology Robert H Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel	Dr. Michael J. Smanski University of Minnesota USA
Prof. Frédéric Tripet Director Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology Keele University School of Life Sciences UK	Dr. Jeremy K. Herren International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology Kenya	Prof. John Mumford Professor of Natural Resource Management Centre for Environmental Policy Imperial College London UK
Prof. Steve Lindsay Chair in Public Health Entomology Durham University UK	Valentino Gantz Assistant Research Scientist University of California San Diego USA	Dr. Daniel Masiga Principal Scientist, Human and Animal Health International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Kenya
Dr. Karen Poiani CEO Island Conservation	Dr. Chris A. Wozniak Biologist USA	Dr. Michael R. Reddy Senior Scientist Microsoft Research USA
Dr. Fredros Okumu Director of Science Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) Tanzania	Prof. Traoré Sékou F. Director of the Malaria Research and Training Center/Entomology Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry Mali	Prof. Halidou Tinto, PharmD PhD Regional Director IRSS Nanoro Head Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro Burkina Faso
Megan Serr Research Associate Department of Biology North Carolina State University USA	Dr. Dimitri Blondel Postdoctoral Research Associate Department of Biology North Carolina State University USA	Andrew Veale Senior Lecturer Department of Environment and Animal Sciences UNITEC New Zealand
Daniel White Research Fellow University of Western Australia Australia	Dr. Louis G. Mukwaya Scientific Advisor Uganda Virus Research Institute Uganda	Prof. Nelson K. Sewankambo Professor of Medicine and Director of THRiVE Makerere University College of Health Sciences Uganda
Michelle Connolly Network Manager ANTI-VeC (a GCRF Network in Vector Borne Disease) MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) University of Glasgow UK	Prof. George Church Harvard Medical School USA	Prof. Immo Kleinschmidt Professor of Epidemiology London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine UK
Prof. Robin Lovell-Badge, CBE, FRS, FMed Sci Senior Group Leader and Head Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics Francis Crick Institute	Prof. Robert M. Waterhouse Department of Ecology and Evolution Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics University of Lausanne Switzerland	Prof. Mariangela Bonizzoni Professor of Zoology Department of Biology and Biotechnology University of Pavia Italy
Ben Novak Lead Scientist  Revive & Restore	Dr Frederic Simard French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), France	Prof. Claudio Valladares Padua, Researcher and Professor, Brazil
Dr. Sabrina Absalon Research Associate Department of Infectious Diseases Boston Children’s Hospital USA	Alun L. Lloyd Drexel Professor and Director of Biomathematics Program Department of Mathematics North Carolina State University USA	Prof. Jo Lines Professor of Malaria Control and Vector Biology London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine UK
Dr. Fred Aboagye-Antwi Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science School of Biological Sciences College of Basic and Applied Sciences University of Ghana Ghana	N. Regina Rabinovich ExxonMobil Scholar in Residence Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health USA	Yacine Diop Djibo Executive Director Speak Up Africa
Prof. Lizette L. Koekemoer Research Professor/Director Wits Research Institute for Malaria University of the Witwatersrand South Africa	Prof. Nicole Achee Research Professor Eck Institute for Global Health Department of Biological Sciences University of Notre Dame	Dr. Philip Leftwich Research Associate Pirbright Institute UK
Pr. Roch K. Dabiré Directeur de Recherche Chercheur Entomologiste Médical Directeur Régional de l’IRSS Burkina Faso	Michael Smith South West Regional Ecologist Australian Wildlife Conservancy Australia	Malaria No More, USA
Dr. Chris Somerville Program Officer, Scientific Research Open Philanthropy Project, USA	Dr. Heather Youngs, Program Officer, Scientific Research Open Philanthropy Project, USA	Dr. Philip Welkhoff, PhD Director Malaria Program Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation USA
Dr. Silas Majambere Director Mosquito Consulting Norway	Krijn Paaijmans Assistant Professor School of Life Sciences Arizona State University USA	Sentelle Eubanks PM James Lab University of California, Irvine USA
Dr. Douglas W. Miano Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection University of Nairobi Kenya	Prof. Gassama Yaye Kene Plant Biotechnology Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Vice Chair Académie Nationale des Sciences et Techniques du Sénégal Senegal	Jonathan Hoekstra Vice-Chair Island Conservation Board of Directors
Prof. Mike Turner Head of Infection and Immunobiology Wellcome Trust UK	Dr. Elizabeth Bennett Vice President, Species Conservation Wildlife Conservation Society	Dr. Jeantine E. Lunshof Research Scientist, Ethicist Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA
Dr. Sanjay Basu Pirbright Institute UK	Paul Brindley George Washington University USA	Dr. Martin C. Taylor London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine UK
Raymond St. Leger University of Maryland USA	J. Royden Saah Coordinator Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents Partnership Island Conservation	Dr. Athanase Badolo Associate Professor of Medical Entomology University Ouaga 1 Joseph Ki-Zerbo Burkina Faso