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Experts Fear Britain May Lose Stem Cell Research Status

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 07:50 CST

Experts are warning Britain that the nation may lose its place as a world leader in stem cell research without proper funding and legislative changes.

According to the UK National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN), red tape and a lack of investment are jeopardizing Britain’s future ability to move from stem cell research to real-life therapies.

Experts in the field say they may be forced to take their work abroad unless these obstacles are resolved.

British scientists are already using patients’ stem cells to cure blindness.  Multiple other initiatives are in the pipeline awaiting funding and regulatory approval to transition from early animal testing to human trials.

Part of the issue is that technology has advanced much faster than anticipated, leaving regulators a step behind, said the UKNSCN.  For instance, researchers designing clinical trials are currently without regulatory framework.

Dr Julie Daniels, director of the Cells for Sight Tissue Bank at Moorfields Eye Hospital, which is using stem cells to treat blinding ocular surface disorders, said it had been a five-year effort to move the therapy from the lab into the clinic.

"It's been a very time-consuming, self-learning process,” she told BBC News.

"It was very hard to gain advice from regulatory bodies. There was no one to ask 'What do we do and how do we comply?’”

"And it's been incredibly difficult to find financial support."

Much of the groundbreaking work in Britain relies on charitable contributions and investment from other countries, mainly the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Professor Pete Coffey, director of the London Project to Cure Blindness at University College London, is looking at stem cell therapy for age-related macular degeneration.

He and his team made a bank of stem cells that are awaiting use in humans, with the potential to treat more than six million patients.

However, all of his funding to transition the work from the lab into a clinical setting has so far come from the United States.

"There's not a single penny in the project as yet from the UK. I want to take this forward as a therapy but progress is slow,” he told BBC News.

"I have kept the project in the UK for as long as possible, but unless more investment comes in from the UK then this will go to the US," he said.

Professor Coffey said U.S. researchers were making progress and seeking regulatory approval to begin safety trials with embryonic stem cells in spinal injury patients next year.  Meanwhile, others are examining the use of stem cells taken from adult tissue instead than embryos.

Josephine Quintaville of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, a pro-life public interest group, said there was no scientific or ethical rationale for using embryonic stem cells over adult stem cells.

"When times are hard and money is short there has to be greater scrutiny of what scientists are doing,” she said.

"We should be working in collaboration across Europe. We should be pooling resources, not competing."

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research and development at the Parkinson's Disease Society, said the field holds significant promise.

"Stem cell research offers hope for sufferers of a number of currently incurable diseases.”

"There is clearly more research and work needed before we will know exactly what therapies will be of most benefit,” she told BBC News.

"However, we must ensure that the way ahead is clear of any unnecessary obstacles that could prevent patients from benefiting as soon as possible."

“The Department of Health believes that stem cell research offers enormous potential to deliver new treatments for diseases and is spending more than £40m a year on all types of research,” said a spokesperson for Britain’s Department of Health.

"The Department of Health and its Gene Therapy Advisory Committee are currently working with other regulators in the field to produce a 'Regulatory Route Map' to provide further clarity on the regulatory requirements for the clinical use of stem cells."

The Medical Research Council told BBC News it was not aware of any clinical studies or trials that had been held up by regulatory procedures.

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Image Caption: Human embryonic stem cell growing on a layer of supporting cells (fibroblasts). Micrograph by Annie Cavanagh and Dave McCarthy (UC Santa Cruz)

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On the Net:

• UK National Stem Cell Network
• London Project to Cure Blindness at University College London
• Parkinson's Disease Society

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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