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KANSAS: State Legislation May Jeopardize Life Sciences Gains Lola Butcher - Staff Writer From the March 5, 2004 print edition Even as Missouri and Kansas try to woo the big-name researchers needed to win the life sciences game, another field of competition is emerging on the horizon. A few states, including some of the leaders in life sciences research, have passed laws legalizing stem cell and fetal- cell research. Missouri and Kansas, meanwhile, face legislative proposals that may limit it. In Missouri, Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit, and Rep. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis, each have introduced bills that would ban human cloning. But the real matter at hand, Lembke said, is not reproductive cloning, but rather "therapeutic cloning," which involves moving a cell nucleus and its genetic material from one cell to another. "I believe this is the human rights issue of our day," said Lembke, whose bill has 102 co-signers. "We have the votes in both the House and the Senate, if we can get a vote on the floor." Bill Romjue, president and CEO of the Missouri Biotechnology Association, said passage would be a death knell for Missouri's burgeoning life sciences industry. "The consequences of it are pretty simple," he said. "We (Missourians) have an opportunity to be a national leader in the life sciences, and the people who propose bills like this are gambling with our future." The debate takes on new urgency because, for the first time, researchers in South Korea have successfully cloned human stem cells to be used for research. Stem cells are important because they have the potential to grow into various kinds of tissues. Although the Stowers Institute for Medical Research does not currently conduct research using cells derived from fertilized human eggs, President and CEO William Neaves said the institute supports such work. He and other life sciences supporters say the therapeutic stem cell research, including research with embryonic stem cells, will be the source of cures for some conditions, such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease, and the repair of others, such as spinal cord injuries and cardiac damage. At Washington University in St. Louis, pathology professor Steve Teitelbaum, who has started a biotech company of his own, said researchers will go where they can contribute to those breakthroughs. "I have great concerns about the ability to recruit scientists," he said. "Massachusetts, New Jersey and California have all passed very welcoming legislation. My colleagues (in those states) think they can pick off our best scientists" because of the legislative climate in Missouri. The Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis published an editorial in the Feb. 27 edition of The St. Louis Review mocking Washington University researchers who sought to explain therapeutic cloning: "They insist these cloned embryos are not humans -- just masses of cells. By inference, 'Dolly' was not a sheep, just a monster mass of cells." In Kansas, the economic development proposal to create a biosciences authority -- and generate about $500 million in life sciences financing in the next 15 years -- that won House approval Feb. 27 included an amendment that limits research in a different way. In that proposal, fetal tissue from induced human abortions could not be used for research conducted under the umbrella of the biosciences authority. Further, if the federal government eventually broadens its approval of federally financed therapeutic stem cell research, the Kansas biosciences authority will not go along. Reggie Robinson, president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, said the restrictions are unacceptable because they might curtail the work of some current Kansas researchers and "would send a negative message to the very highly sought- after people we are trying to attract." The Board of Regents governs six state universities, including the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. Rep. Kenny Wilk, R-Lansing, the bill's sponsor, and Robinson both said they are working to find a middle ground. Missouri and Kansas are in thick company with their struggles on the topic. Alissa Johnson, senior policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said that 71 bills involving embryonic or fetal research were introduced last year. Only five passed, but 34 bills, including the two in Missouri, were carried over this year, and more than 25 new bills have been filed to date. Reach Lola Butcher at 816-421-5900 or [log in to unmask] SOURCE: Kansas City Business Journal, MO http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2004/03/08/story3.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn