Jeremy
08-11-2001, 02:17 PM
Stem cells in Georgia
4 lines will be part of research
By PATRICIA GUTHRIE and KATHY BRISTER
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writers
Georgia will be an integral part of the human embryonic stem cell research that got a limited endorsement from President Bush on Thursday.
Four of the 60 stem cell lines that Bush sanctioned for federally funded research were created at a Georgia fertility clinic and are owned by an Australian biotechnology firm that has a laboratory in Athens.
The company, BresaGen Inc., will research how stem cells repair damage to the central nervous system from Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries, said Allan Robins, chief scientific officer and senior vice president.
"We support the president's decision. We think it's a very rational decision and a politically astute one," Robins said.
Researchers pointed out the president's restrictions apply only to studies underwritten with taxpayer money. Private companies could continue harvesting discarded embryos and creating new embryonic stem cells.
"We haven't ruled out that possibility," Robins said.
Currently, the four stem cell clusters are located at an undisclosed Georgia fertility clinic where they were obtained and cultured.
Robins said the company does not know the source of the embryos, from which the cell lines were derived. The company has a confidentiality agreement with the fertility clinic and declined to disclose its name or location.
"They are sitting in liquid nitrogen now," Robins said of the stem cells. "What we'll be doing with them is trying to repeat what we've already done in mouse cells, which is try and create specific cells that could repair cells damaged by Parkinson's."
Next month, the firm plans to start using the cells in experiments at its new incubator facility, in laboratories being rented from the University of Georgia. Consulting with the company is UGA associate professor Steven Stice, well known for his cloning of cattle and for his research in stem cell technologies.
The 10-employee company was established last year by the Australian firm, which needed a laboratory outside its home country. While it's legal to do research on human stem cells in Australia, it is illegal to conduct experiments using embryos, Robins said.
The firm chose Georgia for two reasons: Its parent company already had a relationship with Stice, and the price was right. "Rental of lab space is about a third the cost here that it is in California," Robins said.
The company is one of a handful of private biotech firms known to have some of the 60 stem cell lines Bush cited in his nationally televised policy address. Researchers said the number is about twice what had been thought to exist, based on perusal of scientific papers and the sharing of knowledge among peers.
"Where are the 60 stem lines? I think a lot of people are asking that question. I think they were surprised to hear there were so many," said Dr. Howard Garrison, spokesman for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, a group of more than 60,000 researchers. "There's never been an organized way of counting them, so I'm not sure how the White House arrived at the number."
Bush's speech did not indicate how much cooperation will exist between private holdings of the stem cell lines and academic centers that rely heavily on taxpayer dollars for research.
Scientists hope embryonic stem cells hold the cure to many of mankind's most debilitating chronic conditions -- Parkinson and Alzheimer's diseases, Type 1 diabetes, spinal cord paralysis and damage from heart attacks. Because the cells are pristine in development and capable of dividing indefinitely, researchers believe they can be cultured into skin cells, blood cells, brain cells and cartilage cells that would zero in and replace damaged cells.
It is unclear how the stem cell clusters will become part of the standard protocol of medical research in the United States. Private firms can retain ownership rights and obtain patents, with potential to reap tremendous profit off the breakthrough technology.
BresaGen said it won't profit directly from the use of its stem cells in academic research because it won't charge scientists for access to its clusters. Its parent company, however, gets first rights on the purchase or licensing of any intellectual property that comes from the research.
"We want to make the stem cell lines widely available to the academic community," Robins said. "We think that's a moral obligation and it will make research go forward at a maximum pace."
4 lines will be part of research
By PATRICIA GUTHRIE and KATHY BRISTER
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writers
Georgia will be an integral part of the human embryonic stem cell research that got a limited endorsement from President Bush on Thursday.
Four of the 60 stem cell lines that Bush sanctioned for federally funded research were created at a Georgia fertility clinic and are owned by an Australian biotechnology firm that has a laboratory in Athens.
The company, BresaGen Inc., will research how stem cells repair damage to the central nervous system from Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries, said Allan Robins, chief scientific officer and senior vice president.
"We support the president's decision. We think it's a very rational decision and a politically astute one," Robins said.
Researchers pointed out the president's restrictions apply only to studies underwritten with taxpayer money. Private companies could continue harvesting discarded embryos and creating new embryonic stem cells.
"We haven't ruled out that possibility," Robins said.
Currently, the four stem cell clusters are located at an undisclosed Georgia fertility clinic where they were obtained and cultured.
Robins said the company does not know the source of the embryos, from which the cell lines were derived. The company has a confidentiality agreement with the fertility clinic and declined to disclose its name or location.
"They are sitting in liquid nitrogen now," Robins said of the stem cells. "What we'll be doing with them is trying to repeat what we've already done in mouse cells, which is try and create specific cells that could repair cells damaged by Parkinson's."
Next month, the firm plans to start using the cells in experiments at its new incubator facility, in laboratories being rented from the University of Georgia. Consulting with the company is UGA associate professor Steven Stice, well known for his cloning of cattle and for his research in stem cell technologies.
The 10-employee company was established last year by the Australian firm, which needed a laboratory outside its home country. While it's legal to do research on human stem cells in Australia, it is illegal to conduct experiments using embryos, Robins said.
The firm chose Georgia for two reasons: Its parent company already had a relationship with Stice, and the price was right. "Rental of lab space is about a third the cost here that it is in California," Robins said.
The company is one of a handful of private biotech firms known to have some of the 60 stem cell lines Bush cited in his nationally televised policy address. Researchers said the number is about twice what had been thought to exist, based on perusal of scientific papers and the sharing of knowledge among peers.
"Where are the 60 stem lines? I think a lot of people are asking that question. I think they were surprised to hear there were so many," said Dr. Howard Garrison, spokesman for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, a group of more than 60,000 researchers. "There's never been an organized way of counting them, so I'm not sure how the White House arrived at the number."
Bush's speech did not indicate how much cooperation will exist between private holdings of the stem cell lines and academic centers that rely heavily on taxpayer dollars for research.
Scientists hope embryonic stem cells hold the cure to many of mankind's most debilitating chronic conditions -- Parkinson and Alzheimer's diseases, Type 1 diabetes, spinal cord paralysis and damage from heart attacks. Because the cells are pristine in development and capable of dividing indefinitely, researchers believe they can be cultured into skin cells, blood cells, brain cells and cartilage cells that would zero in and replace damaged cells.
It is unclear how the stem cell clusters will become part of the standard protocol of medical research in the United States. Private firms can retain ownership rights and obtain patents, with potential to reap tremendous profit off the breakthrough technology.
BresaGen said it won't profit directly from the use of its stem cells in academic research because it won't charge scientists for access to its clusters. Its parent company, however, gets first rights on the purchase or licensing of any intellectual property that comes from the research.
"We want to make the stem cell lines widely available to the academic community," Robins said. "We think that's a moral obligation and it will make research go forward at a maximum pace."