OT: NIH Has Approved 13 Human Stem Cell Lines For Research
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WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--National Institutes of Health Director Francis S.
Collins said the agency has approved 13 human embryonic stem cell lines for
research that were created in a manner that was "beyond reproach" and
"ethically defensible."
Children's Hospital in Boston developed 11 of the approved lines and
Rockefeller University in New York City developed two. The NIH is reviewing
another 96 lines, and Collins said some new lines may be approved as soon as
Friday.
Collins said there are already 31 NIH grants approved to use stem cell
lines. One grantee will use the stem cells to determine if heart tissue can
be regenerated following a heart attack, Collins said.
Collins said these stem cells could make it possible to "come up with new
treatment protocols for a myriad of diseases and injuries," including for
diabetes and spinal-cord injuries.
The announcement comes months after U.S. President Barack Obama lifted a ban
on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, a controversial change
from the Bush administration. It also follows U.S. Food and Drug
Administration approval of the first-ever human trial of a medical treatment
derived from embryonic stem cells. Geron Corp. (GERN), a California-based
biotechnology company, is trying to use a stem-cell treatment for spinal
cord injuries. The company's stock was up nearly 10% Wednesday at $5.98 in
afternoon trading.
Collins stressed multiple times during a conference call that the stem cells
lines approved were developed following strict NIH guidelines and that
donors knew they wouldn't financially gain from donating the cells. "In
accordance with the guidelines, these stem cell lines were derived from
embryos that were donated under ethically sound informed consent processes,"
he said.
Embryos used for research generally are donated by couples who wound up
creating more than they needed during fertility treatments. The embryos are
sometimes thrown away or frozen for later research. Each embryo can yield
one stem-cell line, which can continue replicating indefinitely.
George Q. Daley, the doctor at the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at
Children's Hospital in Boston who developed 11 of the 13 lines approved by
the NIH, said he only used embryos that were "essentially destined for
waste." Daley got the stem-cell lines from anonymous donors at Bringham and
Women's Hospital in Boston.
He said the lines were considered of "low grade," meaning they were less
likely to produce a pregnancy. Daley said he got the process for getting the
embryos started in 2004. He said it took two years to get the appropriate
consent from both hospitals before he could start working with the embryos.
He will use the stem-cell lines to study blood development and thinks they
hold a lot of promise. "It's remarkable how many different areas of medicine
these cells touch," he said.
He said he has created 100 vials of the stem-cells, which will be sold for a
fee of $500 to the appropriate researchers who want to use them in their
studies.
When asked what it felt like to be the first of two researchers to get
federal approval for stem cells, he characterized it as a "statistical
aberration."
"We are part of an international community of scientists who are generating
lines and trying to advanced stem cell science," he said. He said he expects
hundreds of other researchers get approval for stem cell lines.
-By Jared A. Favole, Dow Jones Newswires