jan 1, 1999 - 1999: Jesse Gelsinger dies after attempted gene therapy.

Description:

Jesse Gelsinger poses in Philadelphia a few months before his death in 1999. Gelsinger was one of the first patients to be treated with gene therapy. A virus was designed to deliver the correct form of a mutated gene into his liver, but Gelsinger had a brisk immunological response to the virus, resulting in organ failure and death. Gelsinger’s “biotech death” would spur nationwide responses to ensure the safety of gene-therapy trials.