Stem cell advocates and researchers are eagerly awaiting the
moment next year when president-elect Barack Obama rescinds a
directive that limits federal funding of human embryonic stem-cell
research.
The directive was one of President George Bush's first major acts
after taking office in 2001, and Obama plans to reverse it quickly,
according to the co-chair of his transition team, John
Podesta.
On Monday, spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said Obama had not made any
decisions yet on various Bush executive orders and will be
conferring with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle,
as well as interested groups.
The result of a reversal in stem-cell research policy should be a
surge of funding and interest, said David Greenwood of Geron Corp,
whose shares were up more than 10% on Monday along with those of
other companies with a heavy interest in the field.
"We have been waiting for the day," Greenwood said in a telephone
interview.
"Hallelujah - at last!" agreed Dr Robert Lanza of
Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology, which has been
struggling to find funding.
While private companies have been doing as much as they can, the
weight of the government's National Institutes of Health is vital
to get the process going, the experts agreed.
"We at this company have spent probably $170 million on embryonic
stem cells," Greenwood said.
"I think our $170 million probably is equal to what all other stem
cell companies have managed to raise, and that's not a large sum to
do industrial science, compared to the $30 billion a year the NIH
has."
Advocates say stem cell-related research could lead to a whole new
field of regenerative medicine, in which patients could get
transplants and treatments for Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes,
cancer, injuries and a range of other ills.
Bush has been at odds with Congress, researchers and advocates for
years over the issue.
Stem cells are the body's master cells. Most sources, from blood
and tissue, are not controversial.
But days-old embryos called blastocysts are made up of so-called
pluripotent stem cells, which can give rise to all the other cells
and tissues in the body.
Human embryonic stem cells were only discovered in 1998.
The 1995 Dickey Amendment, passed by Congress every year since,
forbids the use of federal funds for the destruction or
endangerment of embryos for research.
Extended restriction
In 2001, Bush extended this restriction via executive order to
research that uses stem cells from human embryos - with the small
exception of a few batches, called lines, of stem cells that had
already been created.
Congress has tried to overrule the decision with broad stem cell
legislation, but Bush has vetoed every effort.
"We have been operating for the last decade with one hand tied
behind our back," Lanza said by email.
Amy Comstock Rick, chief executive officer of the Parkinson's
Action Network, does not see the Dickey Amendment as a major
stumbling point.
"There are an awful lot of stem cell lines out there already," she
said in a telephone interview.
She thinks an executive order by Obama superseding Bush's
executive order will do plenty for the field.
"What it'll do is open up a large pool of funding that hasn't been
eligible for stem cell research," she said.
Kenneth Aldrich, chairman and CEO of International Stem Cell
Corporation, said the restrictions have hurt academic researchers
who come up with the ideas that are then moved to the clinic by
private companies.
Many have built separate facilities for working with human
embryonic stem cells, for fear of losing all their federal
funding.
"They have been forced to spend a lot of money on bricks and
mortar," Aldrich said.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino defended Bush's stand on
Monday.
"Since that decision, scientists from all over the world, and
especially here in our country, have shown their innovation and
their abilities to do embryonic stem cell research and make huge
leaps in achievement without destroying embryos," she said.
