Ocata Therapeutics Inc fka OCAT

[elllk]

Ruling a Blow to Stem Cell Research, LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/...

.....Scientists working with embryonic stem cells said patients will suffer by having to wait longer for science to develop new treatments and cures.

Advanced Cell Technology Inc. is using the cells to grow retinal pigment epithelium cells that restored vision in rats and mice with a rare childhood disease called Stargardt's macular dystrophy. The Santa Monica-based company has asked the Food and Drug Administration for permission to use the cells in a clinical trial. But without any prospect of federal funding, the research would be in doubt, said Dr. Robert Lanza, the company's chief scientific officer.

"This is criminal," Lanza said. "We are talking about people going blind, people who are dying from a terrifying array of diseases."

Even in California, where Proposition 71 made billions of dollars available for research involving human embryonic stem cells, scientists face a chaotic future because so many rely on NIH grants, said Alan Trounson, president of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. .......