The Mainstreaming of Human Gene Transfer

December 5, 2013 | Human gene transfer has become so routine in clinical trials that it should no longer merit additional NIH oversight, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. A special committee, the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC), currently provides an extra round of scrutiny for all NIH proposals that involve introducing foreign genes into human subjects. The new report recommends that the RAC's purview be reduced to only those cases where novel vectors, genetic material or means of transfer are proposed. National Academies