It’s going to be illegal in California to sell “gene-therapy kits” unless they carry a warning that says not to use them on yourself.
Just one wrinkle: we’re not sure any such kit exists. Not yet, anyway.
The consumer protection rule is in a bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 30 and will become law in January. It targets hobbyist kits employing CRISPR, the versatile gene-editing tool that has revolutionized gene research.
Sales of certain do-it-yourself CRISPR supplies will be prohibited unless they carry a bold notice “stating that the kit is not for self-administration.”
It’s the first law in the US to directly regulate CRISPR, says its author, Republican state senator Ling Ling Chang.
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