The San Francisco Chronicle
 AUGUST 24, 2001, FRIDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. B1
HEADLINE: Agency to speed research;
Stem cell grants on fast track
SOURCE: Chronicle Staff Writer
BYLINE: Tom Abate

:
In a bid to accelerate research on human stem cells, the National
Institutes of
Health reportedly will allow federally funded scientists to amend their
current
grant applications so they can quickly begin experiments on the cells
covered in
the Bush compromise plan.

    Allan Robins, chief scientist at BresaGen Inc., a Georgia biotech
firm that
has created four human stem cell lines, said yesterday that company
officials
learned of the speed-up plan during a meeting with NIH officials in
Bethesda,
Md.

    In the same meeting, NIH officials, led by science policy director
Lana
Skirboll, said they might publish at least a partial list of approved
stem cell
sources as early as next week, Robins said. Publication of the list has
been
eagerly awaited by scientists.

    Robins said that before this week's meeting, it had been assumed
academic
scientists would not be able to get federal support for human stem cell
experiments until NIH issued new grants next year.

    "This is very encouraging news," Robins said. "They weren't very
specific in
terms of what they meant. But one interpretation was that if (federally
funded
scientists) were working on dog stem cells and they wanted to work on
human stem
cell areas, they would be able to modify the existing grant."

    Robins said such modifications would allow scientists to spend
federal money
they already have to experiment on the 60 human stem cell lines President
Bush
referred to in his recent nationally televised speech.

    That compromise was meant to partially lift a ban, enacted by
anti-abortion
lawmakers, that has prevented NIH from supporting experiments on human
stem
cells.

    Many scientists believe stem cells derived from early embryos could
be used
to treat Alzheimer's, stroke or other diseases. Opponents argue that
these

 PAGE 2
              The San Francisco Chronicle AUGUST 24, 2001, FRIDAY,

possible uses don't justify the destruction of a potential human being.

    BresaGen chief executive John Smeaton said Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson, whose Cabinet department oversees NIH, spent
about 30
minutes at the meeting.

    "I was impressed with the degree of enthusiasm he expressed for us to
do
this (stem cell research) expeditiously," Smeaton said.

    As governor of Wisconsin before joining Bush's Cabinet, Thompson
backed the
University of Wisconsin scientist who first isolated the stem cells from
a human
embryo. Asked whether NIH had a plan to speed research by amending
grants, HHS spokesman Bill Hall said: "There are ways to get funding
without having to file
entirely new grants but NIH and us are not going to talk about
specifics."

    A NIH spokesperson would not comment on the BresaGen report, other
than to say that the meeting was only one in a series of get-togethers
between NIH
officials and the owners of the 60 stem cell lines identified in Bush's
speech.

    Leading scientists have questioned whether there really are 60 stem
cell
lines, and NIH is under pressure to make the list public.

    The meetings this week are intended to make sure the cell line owners
meet
the conditions laid out in the compromise, and iron out questions about
the
contracts researchers must sign to get access to stem cells covered by
patents.

    BresaGen clinical trials director Chris Juttner said NIH officials
indicated
they will probably post a partial list of approved sites as early as next
week,
because not all of the stem cell owners have been able to prove they met
Bush's
guidelines.

    "They expected that not all the lines would be on the registry
immediately,"
Juttner said, adding that "It could take months" for the full list to be
known.E-mail Tom Abate at [log in to unmask]

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