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I don't know all the mechanics, Charlie may know better. However, the University of Wisconsin gets patents through WARF - the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The stem cells are controlled by the non profit business WiCell. So, I sure that's who Tommy Thompson was talking about when he said the nonprofit business that controls 5 lines. An article in the Wisconsin State Journal today says WiCell has gotten 100 requests already, 30 have been shipped and 70 are in progress. The cells are tricky and costly to grow and the $5000 processing fee doesn't cover the costs of producing and shipping. So, there is a relationship between the UW, WARF and WiCell. Geron a small biotechnology company in Menlo Park CA, has a patent licensing agreement with WARF and has funded work at WiCell. So they are also involved. Terry ----- Original Message ----- From: Linda J Herman <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2001 8:11 AM Subject: Information on the 60 cell lines and registry > Excerpts from article in : > Los Angeles Times > August 11, 2001 Saturday Home Edition > SECTION: Part A; Part 1; Page 1; National Desk > HEADLINE:Stem Cell Decision Doesn't Quell Debate; > Science: Uncertain but resolved researchers gear up to start limited > tests. > Senate hearing planned. > BYLINE: AARON ZITNER, EDWIN CHEN > > " Facing a skeptical research community, the Bush administration argued > Friday > that the president's plan to fund research using human embryo stem cells > would > propel scientists on a course to finding new treatments for disease. > > But on the day after Bush devoted a nationally televised address to > the > research, many scientists and patient advocacy groups said they could not > yet > endorse his plan. They questioned Bush's decision to limit federal > funding to > experiments using only existing stem cells already taken from only 60 or > so > embryos. > > "There's so much more we need to know about this," said Lawrence > Soler, who > led a coalition of patient advocacy groups that lobbied for federal > funding. "We > need to know if these cells that the president has identified are robust > and > useful. Until they can look at these cells, scientists are going to > remain > skeptical." > "... Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson acknowledged > that > Bush's decision had spawned questions about whether the 60 sets of stem > cells, > known as cell lines, "are adequate to conduct effective research. The > answer, > ladies and gentlemen, is a resounding yes." > > "... The 60 cell lines that can be used in federally funded experiments > have > already been extracted from embryos, using private money... " > > Health Officials Start on Registry > > " Thompson and officials at the National Institutes of Health said > Friday that > they had begun building a registry of the 60 cell lines, which will take > several > weeks. Researchers will have to form alliances with owners of the cell > lines > before they can submit grant applications to the NIH. And the NIH has no > power > to compel owners of the cell lines to work with any researcher. > > Thompson and NIH officials released few of the key details about the > cell > lines that many scientists want to know. They said that many of the cell > lines > had been created at private companies and that they did not have > authority to > release proprietary information about many of the lines. > > Officials said they could only reveal the source of 17 of the 60 cell > lines. > They came from three businesses: WiCell Research Institute Inc. of > Wisconsin, > and ES Cell International and BresaGen Ltd., both of Australia. > > They said the cell lines met several ethical and scientific > benchmarks. The > cell lines, they said, were created under strong ethics guidelines: All > the > embryos involved were donated by fertility patients, who often create > more than > they need in the course of trying to become pregnant and who sometimes > discard > the surplus embryos. The patients signed informed consent forms before > donating > their embryos, and none was paid for the embryos. > > About half of the cell lines were created in the United States and the > others > in Australia, India, Israel and Sweden." > > " But scientists and research advocates said they need to know much > more, > including the conditions under which the cell lines were created, their > ability > to reproduce and whether they could truly grow into a wide range of body > tissues. > "... The scientist who first isolated stem cells in human embryos, James > Thomson > of the University of Wisconsin, said: "If there truly are 60 cell lines > available, then I do feel the field will get a good start from this. But > until > more is known about them, I can't say. . . . Sixty is a pretty reasonable > number." > > "... Some researchers noted that obtaining stem cells from private > companies has > been a frustrating experience. Private firms often ask for certain rights > to > discoveries made with their cells, but researchers and universities do > not want > to sign away the power to control or profit from their work. > > HHS Secretary Thompson acknowledged the problem but said it could be > overcome. "We still have some very strong proprietary and patent issues > to work > through, but I have great confidence that they can be addressed." > > He said he talked Thursday to a nonprofit business that owns rights to > five > cell lines and was encouraged by its willingness to cooperate with > researchers..." > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn