In 2009, Mitalipov and his co-authors reported in the scientific journal Nature they had successfully bred twin rhesus macaque monkeys (named Mito and Tracker) using spindle transfer. The announcement made worldwide news. Mitalipov predicted this therapy, used on humans, could prevent inherited disorders and save thousands of lives.
“With the proper governmental approvals,” Mitalipov said in a statement at the time, “our work can rapidly be translated into clinical trials for humans, and, eventually, approved therapies.”After Mito and Tracker, Mitalipov’s team produced three more monkeys and moved to human embryos. In 2012, they reported in Nature they had successfully grown 13 human embryos after replacing mitochondria in the eggs and using traditional in vitro fertilization.
Federal law prevented him from implanting the embryos into women without FDA approval of a testing protocol. But Mitalipov stands on the doorstep of altering the human genetic chain in the name of trying to fix these inherited diseases.“What we’re changing is the gene that codes the essence of the disease that is devastating for the family and child,” he says. “We’re correcting mostly, not trying to change it. That’s how I see it, and I think it’s ethical to do it for this treatment.”