Latest bloombrg update quotes Dr. Lanza via phone interview, not sure if this was posted here. It's all good. And we have to love that Lanza is the spokesperson of choice for most articles or news stories on stem cells.
First New Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Approved for U.S. (Update3)
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By Rob Waters
Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Thirteen embryonic stem-cell lines were approved for use by U.S.-funded researchers today, the first of hundreds of cell colonies that may become available under new polices promised by President Barack Obama.
Stem cells taken from days-old human embryos can be kept alive indefinitely in solution, and have the ability to turn into about 200 cell types in the body. Use of these so-called cell lines is opposed by some people because extracting them destroys the embryos. The stem-cell expansion was announced today by Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, in a telephone briefing with reporters.
Another 20 lines may be cleared as soon as Dec. 4, the first of “a wave” of approvals that could make hundreds available, Collins said. Obama pledged to end U.S. stem-cell restrictions during his presidential campaign. Congress twice voted to overturn the limits, put in place by President George W. Bush, and Bush vetoed both measures.
“With these restrictions now being lifted, we can now compete, hopefully, with the U.K. and some of the other foreign governments that are running with us,” said Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of Worcester, Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology Inc., in a telephone interview today. “It would be good for us to be back in the game.”
Advanced Cell gained 1 cent to reach 11 cents in over-the- counter trading at 4 p.m. New York time. The shares more than tripled this year. Geron, the Menlo Park, California company whose application to start the first human trial using embryonic stem cells is pending before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, rose 76 cents, or 14 percent, to $6.20 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The increase was the biggest single-day gain for the company in more than four months.
10,000 Shares
Redwood Partners, a New York-based investment firm, bought 10,000 shares of Geron at $5.70 off the news, said Lisa Duffee, a trader with the company, in a telephone interview today.
“These sorts of stocks get crazy when there’s news,” she said. “They react strongly to the upside or the downside and they’re not expensive. We may hold on to them for a few days to see how much noise it gets. If it really runs up, we could be out today.”
The newly approved lines were created by George Daley, a researcher at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Ali Brivanlou, a researcher at Rockefeller University in New York. They were made using private donations during the eight years that federal funding for stem-cell research was sharply restricted by the Bush administration.
‘Huge Relief’
“It’s been a long time coming and it’s a huge relief,” said Daley, whose research team at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute created 11 of the newly approved lines. “This is the first step toward widely expanded access to hundreds of lines that have been derived since the initial Bush policy of 2001.”
Collins said his agency has approved 31 grants totaling $21 million that have been held up until new cell lines were reviewed and approved. The scientists awarded the grants can now choose which approved cell lines to work with, he said.
“This is an opportunity to celebrate the science that can now go forward,” Collins said during the briefing. The announcement should end “what has clearly been a time of some frustration on the part of the research community.”
More embryonic stem-cell grant applications are under review by the NIH as part of the $10 billion provided to the agency in the $787 stimulus package passed by Congress in February, Collins said. Those grants are in the second stage of scrutiny at the agency and may lead to more than $10 million in additional awards, he said.
‘Rigorous’ Review
The NIH conducted a “rigorous” review to make sure the stem cells approved today were made from embryos that were freely donated by women who were not compensated or induced in any way to provide them, Collins said. Scientists had to submit evidence that donors were informed of all options on use of their embryos and provided written consent.
David Prentice, a senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council in Washington, described the new approvals as “unfortunate,” saying stem-cell research had yet to produce results.
“This money would be much better spent on adult stem cell research where we are seeing good results for a variety of diseases including stroke, spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis,” he said.
Eye Diseases
Advanced Cell Technology applied to U.S. regulators last month to start human trials on its embryonic stem-cell treatment for Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy, which causes untreatable blindness. The treatment resulted in 100 percent restoration of vision in rat studies with no serious side effects, Lanza said.
The stem-cell colony used in the studies, which wasn’t previously approved for federal research funding, is five to ten times as efficient at replacing lost photoreceptor cells as other lines, Lanza said.
The company plans to pursue the treatment for other forms of macular degeneration, which affects as many as 10 million people in the U.S., according to a company statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Waters in San Francisco at rwaters5@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 2, 2009 16:26 ES
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