Bush won't carry stem cell research to term
By Red Herring
June 28, 2001
This article is from the July 15, 2001, issue of Red Herring magazine.

As expected, the Bush administration is putting the brakes
on embryonic stem cell research by freezing federal funding
for the controversial method. If the ban on funding sticks,
it would put the administration squarely at odds with the
mainstream scientific community, which almost universally
supports the use of embryonic stem cells for research.

Embryonic stem cells are cherished by researchers because
theoretically the cells are programmable, capable of being
triggered to develop into any type of cell in the human body.
The hope is that they can be used to replace dead, dying,
or missing cells, thereby opening up new treatments for diabetes,
cancer, heart disease, and Parkinson's disease.

The technique is controversial, because some believe a human
embryo, regardless of its stage of development, is a human being,
and appropriating it is unethical. Proponents hold that, in fact,
not exploiting these bountiful embryonic stem cells to improve
or save lives is unethical.

Under the Clinton administration, research on embryonic stem
cells was allowed as long as federal money was not used to fund
harvesting of the cells from embryos. In March, Nightlight
Christian Adoptions, a religious organization that finds adopters
for embryos, sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, seeking to make the Clinton guidelines illegal.

In May, the Bush administration's stricter anti-embryonic
research stance prompted actor and disabled rights activist
Christopher Reeve and seven prominent scientists to file suit,
seeking to overturn the ban. "Talented researchers will stay
away from stem cell research" without the freedom to work on
embryonic stem cells, says Jeffrey Martin, an attorney with
Shea & Gardner in Washington, D.C., who is representing
the plaintiffs. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy
Thompson has said the review of the issue will conclude
this summer.

CELL SIDE
The influence of stem cell research on the medical industry
could equal that of genomic research, says Michael West,
founder of Geron (Nasdaq: GERN) and CEO of Advanced
Cell Technology, the two lone companies working with
embryonic stem cells.

Due in part to the ongoing controversy, some biotech firms
have explored other options, like using adult stem cells,
which are derived from adult tissues and have demonstrated
the ability to differentiate into many types of cells. Still, some
researchers suspect their potential is limited when compared
with embryonic stem cells.

While a ban will not squelch the promising field of cell therapy
in the United States (see "The new physical therapy," May 1 & 15),
it would certainly stifle research. As the U.S. dithers, the UK biotech
industry -- the world's second largest -- presses on, with the full
support of the British government.

Write to [log in to unmask]

http://www.redherring.com/index.asp?layout=story&channel=10000001&doc_id=1250019725&rh_special_report_id=

* * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn