There was a great deal of uncertainty and concern about whether the new
director of the NIH - Dr. Zerhouni would support stem cell and cloning
research at the NIH- and if he would oppose the President's viewpoints.
He has finally made his own viewpoints public.
Linda
FROM: The Boston Globe
July 3, 2002, Wednesday ,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: NATIONAL/FOREIGN; Pg. A3
HEADLINE: NIH CHIEF MAKES CALL FOR CLONING RESEARCH
BYLINE: By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff
BETHESDA, Md. - The newly installed director of the National
Institutes of
Health publicly stated his views yesterday for the first time on the
cloning of
human tissues, issuing a call for more medical researchers to get into
the
controversial field. His carefully worded statement was made in reply to
a
question about "therapeutic cloning," which President Bush has said
should be
criminalized even when done by privately funded researchers.
Dr. Elias Zerhouni also hailed work being done on stem cell research
as "one
of the top scientific opportunities of the moment."
Zerhouni's views on stem cell research and therapeutic cloning
could have
far-reaching impact on the medical research community in Massachusetts
and
elsewhere.
Bush has ordered that stem cell research funded by the government be
limited
to 60 existing lines, and the NIH is prohibited from working on cloning
of human
tissues because of a 1995 law banning certain types of embryonic
research.
Zerhouni, who came to the NIH five weeks ago with a vow to examine
"facts, not
factions," yesterday said in his first meeting with reporters since then
that he
aimed to go where those facts lead on both therapeutic cloning and stem
cell
research.
In meeting with a small group of print reporters at the NIH campus
here,
Zerhouni set the tone for his stewardship of the world's largest medical
research facility by saying that he hoped to oversee a "quantum leap" in
medical
discoveries. That, he said, is the best way to control the nation's
spiraling
health care costs.
"It is very difficult for me to see how the country will overcome the
difficulties posed by the growth of health care expenditures without
renewed
discovery efforts," Zerhouni said. "The only thing that can really change
it are
quantum leap discoveries that can make a quantum leap difference in the
delivery
of health care."
That statement led to questions about whether such quantum leaps could
come
without greater stem cell research and human tissue cloning.
Stem cell research and human tissue cloning are opposed by some who
view the
research as involving the destruction of human life.
Asked whether he agrees with Bush's call for legislation that would
criminalize all forms of cloning, which has passed the House but has
stalled in
the Senate, Zerhouni said: "To me, the science is so early that what we
need to
do is develop the scientific field, get more people into doing the
research that
needs to be done. At this point I don't think we are anywhere near
clinical
implementation. Let's step back for a second."
A spokesman said later that this was the first time Zerhouni publicly
has
addressed the topic of "therapeutic cloning," which involves the cloning
of
tissues and is different from reproductive cloning of human beings, which
has no
political support.
Zerhouni, who established the Institute for Cell Engineering at Johns
Hopkins
University, urged similar restraint in the debate about stem cell
research. Some
scientists believe that such research can eventually produce tissue that
can be
used to cure certain diseases.
"Stem cell research in my mind raises very fundamental questions about
fundamental biological issues," Zerhouni said.
"The simple discovery that you may have 'plasticity' that changes the
fate of
one cell towards another, or the entire issue of epigenetic programming,
that is
for me a revolutionary concept that should rank as one of the top
scientific
opportunities of the moment," he said.
Epigenetic programming is a field related to stem cell research in
which
scientists seek to understand why cells have certain functions, and seek
to
change those functions in the laboratory.
As part of that process, scientists hope the reprogrammed cells can be
used
to treat diseases.
The NIH has an enormous impact on the Massachusetts economy, sending
$1
billion annually for research to Boston universities, teaching hospitals,
and
biotechnology companies, more than to any other city in the country.
Facilities in the rest of Massachusetts receive $600 million, making
the
state the second-largest recipient of NIH funds after California.
Those amounts have risen steadily as NIH's budget has doubled in the
past
five years, prompting much concern in the research community about
whether the
research dollars now will begin to decline.
Zerhouni said it's "hard to know" whether NIH needs another
significant
budget increase, and he noted that the Bush administration is operating
under
difficult budget constraints.
But Zerhouni's call for a "quantum leap" in medical discoveries is
likely to
be interpreted in many quarters as a call for even greater investment in
research.
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