A new joint effort between General Electric and U.S. biotech company Geron will use stem cells to develop products that could give drug developers an early warning of whether new medicines are toxic, Reuters reported.
The effort is the U.S. conglomerate’s most direct attempt to make commercial products from human embryonic stem cells “” the body’s master cells that can grow into various types of human tissue, such as skin or internal organs.
The two companies plan to use an existing batch of stem cells to develop sample human cells that drug companies could use to test the toxicity of new drugs early in the development process.
Konstantin Fiedler, general manager of cell technologies at GE Healthcare, said the venture would not sell actual stem cells, but rather heart or liver cells derived from stem cells.
He believes such a method could even replace animal trials one day.
“Once you have human cells and you can get them in a standardized way, like you get right now your lab rats in a standardized way, you can actually do those experiments on those cells,” he said.
While the products are still in an early stage of development, GE hopes to have the first commercial cells ready next year.
Experts believe that embryonic stem cell research has enormous potential for the development of treatments for cancer and other diseases.
However, many opponents believe the destruction of any embryo is wrong. In March, the Obama administration lifted a Bush-era decision that had forbidden federally funded researchers to work with the embryonic cells.
Advocates said GE’s increasing its presence in stem cell research could boost the field’s standing.
Amy Comstock Rick, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, a group that advocates stem-cell research, sees the move as validation that human embryonic stem cell research is moving through the pipeline as it should be.
“What once were promising theoretical ideas are now getting closer and closer to being ideas in practice,” she said.
The research and manufacturing and the resulting sale of any products will be handled by GE, while Geron will open up to GE its extensive database covering the growth of and differentiation of existing human embryonic stem cells.
Fiedler said it was too early to estimate the revenue the project might generate and the companies did not disclose the financial terms of the arrangement.
GE reached a deal with Cytori Therapeutics in May to commercialize that company’s StemSource product.
Fiedler said, GE has had a policy since 2005 to do research on stem cells, while following all U.S. and applicable laws, but had not yet tried to commercialize a product.
StemCells Inc and Aastrom Biosciences, Osiris Therapeutics and other smaller U.S. companies have focused on stem-cell research.
Pfizer, the world’s largest drug maker, quietly launched a stem cell initiative last year.
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