 |
 |
NEW JERSEY: Stem Cell Foundation Plans Web Site For Information Exchange April 25, 2004, 5:40 PM EDT NEWARK, N.J. -- A new nonprofit stem-cell foundation will start a Web site to educate business and potential donors about its work. BioMed Zone will provide information about stem cell research to pharmaceutical and biotech companies looking to forge partnerships with medical researchers. The New Jersey Stem Cell Research Endowment Fund announced its first project at a gathering this weekend at which the foundation was formally unveiled by lawmakers, scientists and business leaders. The fund will provide money to researchers looking into ways to use stem cells to cure ailments such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and arthritis. Money is expected to be raised from the pharmaceutical industry and other interested parties. The fund will help researchers find cures while sidestepping battles over state and federal funding. "No one company has enough resources to do stem cell research on their own. The research is too important to be bogged down by who is in power," Union County Assemblyman Neil Cohen told The Sunday Record of Bergen County. Cohen sponsored stem cell legislation signed by Gov. James E. McGreevey in January. He said the law specifically prohibits human cloning. Embryos used in research would come from families using fertility treatments. New Jersey joins California as the only states officially encouraging stem cell research. The research has drawn staunch criticism from the Roman Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups. The Bush administration also has limited federal funding for embryonic research. The foundation's gathering drew a protest from members of New Jersey Right to Life. "Creating a human life for the purpose of destruction is wrong. If companies decide to support this kind of grisly research in New Jersey, they will be picketed and boycotted," Marie Tasy, the organization's director of public affairs, told The Sunday Star-Ledger of Newark. SOURCE: The Associated Press / Newsday, NY http://tinyurl.com/yvhkw * * * New Jersey Project to Promote Stem Cell Research By: Toni Clarke Sun Apr 25, 2004 12:39 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group led by New Jersey legislator Neil Cohen plans to roll out a project on Sunday aimed at bringing together scientists, banks, drug companies and universities to push forward stem cell research. Representatives from leading drug companies, such as Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc., biotechs Amgen Inc. and Geron Corp., as well as bankers and researchers, will meet at the Marriott hotel at Newark airport to discuss and formally launch the project. The move follows a similar initiative in California, which is considering a $3 billion state bond to fund stem cell research, including work on embryonic stem cells, and coincides with an announcement by Harvard University that seven of the school's affiliated teaching hospitals and about 100 researchers are joining to explore new areas of stem cell research. The U.S. government banned the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research in 2001. Researchers are allowed to use only a limited number of stem cell lines that had been created using human embryos before the ban. They are allowed, however, to conduct research using private funds. And there is no limit on the use of other sorts of stem cells, such as those found in bone marrow. BREAKTHROUGH TREATMENTS Embryonic stem cells are valued because they are progenitor cells that can develop into any cell type in the body. Researchers are hopeful that working with such cells may lead to medical breakthroughs in intractable conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Critics oppose such research because the embryo is destroyed when cells are taken, and some fear the research will be used to create human clones. There is no opposition to the use of adult stem cells and most scientists believe both routes should be explored. Initiated by Cohen, a Democratic assemblyman from Union County, transplant surgeon Gary Friedman, and business consultant Warren Victor, the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Endowment Fund is a non-profit organization designed to connect researchers with funding sources such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology companies and investment banks. The Fund, which aims to raise $3 billion, will be administered by trustees via a Web site to which drug companies or others seeking to engage in research projects can link up with promising research projects. Profits from therapies developed through the project will be shared according to contracts worked about between each research group. "The aim is to bring the researchers up on the radar screen so they can be viewed by drug companies and biotechs, while at the same time letting drug and biotechs invest in stem cell research projects without building from scratch in their own organizations," said Cohen. The move comes three months after New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey signed legislation encouraging stem cell research. The law bans human cloning but allows for embryonic stem cell research for therapeutic purposes. (Additional reporting by Maggie Fox in Washington, D.C.) SOURCE: Reuters / Macon Area Online, GA http://maconareaonline.com/news.asp?id=6656 * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn