 |
 |
Potential Administration Compromise on Stem Cell Research Will Not Suffice Limited Number of Stem Cells Lines Not Enough for Quality Research And May Violate NIH Ethics Guidelines WASHINGTON, July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- In the July 9th issue of "Newsweek," it was reported that the Administration is considering a compromise on embryonic stem cell research to appease both groups that oppose the research and the majority of Americans, scientists, and research organizations that support it. "Newsweek" states that the compromise would allow the federal government to provide funds for embryonic stem cell research using the existing half-dozen cell lines already in existence, which were developed by privately owned companies. The article also noted that the Department of Health and Human Services would write rules to compel the owners of those cell lines to share them with other researchers. Unfortunately, leading researchers agree that this proposal is not a compromise as it would severely limit the scientific promise and advances which could help find cures for 100 million Americans suffering from Parkinson's, diabetes, cancer, spinal cord injuries, ALS and other debilitating diseases. "A decision by the President to only make a certain number of stem cell lines available will inhibit research and prevent or delay important advances toward real cures for such diseases as Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson's, congestive heart failure and many forms of cancer," said Paul Berg, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate, Cahill Professor of Cancer Research and Biochemistry, and Director of Beckman Center, Stanford University School of Medicine. "If federal funds are only allowed to be used for research on the six stem cell lines already derived it will effectively end the ability of NIH-funded scientists to contribute to meaningful stem cell research -- this is not a compromise," said Gerald Dr. Fischbach, M.D., Executive Vice President for Health Sciences at Columbia University and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. "I believe it is the NIH-supported research that will lead most directly to cures for life-threatening diseases. The NIH guidelines were carefully constructed over the course of one year and they include the opinion and views of scientists, ethicists and laypersons. It is not clear that the existing six stem cell lines meet the rigorous criteria set forth in these guidelines." "Moreover, the six lines being discussed by the Administration are not sufficiently diverse enough for research. Research in mouse models has proven that there are subtle differences between embryonic stem cell lines -- not all are alike. Thus, researchers need time to explore a wide variety of embryonic stem cell lines in order to determine which are the most effective and safe for therapeutic purposes," added Dr. Fischbach. "The six cell lines are not sufficient to fully explore the potential of embryonic stem cell research because these lines show some extreme variations in their ability to grow and differentiate. So few human lines have been isolated and of those in existence, it is already known that several do not grow well in culture, thus they are not practically useful. Moreover, since one biotech company has exclusive rights to these very few cell lines, it's not in the public interest to restrict the research to just those," said Doug Melton, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Harvard University. "It is difficult to predict which lines would act or perform appropriately in all the various kinds of experimental paradigms to which investigators would subject these lines in attempts to produce large numbers of homogeneous cells of any given lineage. Six lines seems to me to be below the number that would be desired to assure, with high probability, that we would obtain lines that would be exploitable for the formidable research that lies ahead," said John Gearhart, Ph.D., Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins Medicine. "I would strongly oppose limitations on the number of embryonic stem cell lines available for research. Limiting available lines artificially limits research for no good reason, which in turn, limits our chances of finding cures and treatments," said Lawrence S.B. Goldstein, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute at University of California San Diego. The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) is a stem cell research advocacy coalition comprised of over 50 universities, scientific societies, and voluntary health organizations. The goal of the coalition is to ensure that current federal policy regarding funding for stem cell research is retained. For more information visit the website: http://www.stemcellfunding.org/ MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here: http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X38212226 SOURCE Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research Web Site: http://www.stemcellfunding.org http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-03-2001/0001526547&EDATE= * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn