“Gene therapy” in a private clinic to work toward legal regulations Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare December 11, 20:04

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will proceed with the regulation of the law because there is a safety issue regarding the treatment that puts genes directly into the body, even though scientific basis has not been established. It was.

“Gene therapy”, in which genes are placed directly into the body, is approved for the treatment of illnesses that cause poor blood flow in the country, and public medical insurance is now applied.

On the other hand, health insurance is not applied at private clinics for treatments that have no scientific basis, such as “injecting tumor suppressor genes to treat cancer”, mainly in private clinics. It is carried out as free medical care.

The expert committee of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which has been discussing such treatment methods, said that at the meeting held on the 11th, there are safety and ethical issues related to gene therapy that directly puts genes into the body, and legislation should be considered. The idea to do is summarized.

In addition, regarding the application of “genome editing”, which can manipulate genes freely, to medical care, after submitting notifications to the government, strict regulations that require approval by the national council should be implemented. Combined together.

In response to this, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will continue to study the scope of technology subject to regulation and the procedure for confirming safety while listening to the opinions of experts, and will proceed with work toward regulation by law. It is.