• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Federal Funding is Key to Stem Cell Research

Posted on: Monday, 30 May 2005, 16:35 CDT

WASHINGTON -- Both the business potential and the public health benefits of embryonic stem cell research will be severely handicapped in the United States if President George W. Bush keeps a lid on federal funding for the science as promised.

The conservative U.S. president is facing a rare rebellion from the Republican-dominated Congress, which last week passed a bill in the lower House of Representatives that would loosen funding restrictions Bush placed on the controversial research in August 2001.

Bush has vowed to veto the bill if it is passed by the Senate and sent to him for signing.

"If the U.S. wants to become a world leader in this field of research, it's essential for this legislation to pass," said Michael Werner of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the largest professional association in the biotech sector.

The bill would allow funding for research using stem cells from extra embryos at fertility clinics, after Bush in August 2001 restricted federal government financing to research on stem cell derived from embryos before that date.

Since then the government has devoted just 65 million dollars to research on the allowed stem cell lines, some of which are unusable, Werner said.

"We need to do significantly more than that," he said.

With Britain, Singapore and South Korea now at the forefront of stem-cell research, the United States is being left behind.

Private funding can power some of the science, but "if we want to be a leader we have to do more," Werner said.

"Federal funding for stem cell research, that's of course the key for research in this country," said Rudolf Jaenish, a biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "The shortfall is very severe."

"The private sector is run by commercial interests, and not by the quest for basic research," Jaenish said. "The private funds (are) certainly not at all able to fill the hole."

Embryonic stem cells hold far greater medical promise than stem cells derived from bone marrow or umbilical cord blood, for which funding is not restricted. They have the unique ability to develop into any cell type, and the potential to repair the ravages of several diseases, the researcher explained.

Biologist Ira Black, director of the state-supported Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey, sees the dearth of federal funding for research as "a very serious situation" with implications not just for public health in the United States but also for its economy.

If nothing changes, the United States won't be able to compete commercially with South Korea or Europe or China, leading to a loss of jobs and wealth, he warned.

The western state of California has taken a different approach: it has promised three billion dollars in state money over ten years for stem cell research.

"But even that as remarkable as it is," said Black, commenting on California, "is not comparable to federal support."

Black emphasized that it was not just a matter of cash. "It's also the atmosphere that is created by the federal restraint and disapproval," he added.

He called the vote in the House of Representatives "very encouraging," noting that politicians can't ignore public opinion for long if they want to be re-elected.

"Almost every poll that's taken indicates that people are in favor of stem cell research," he said.

Source: AFP

More News in this Category