antiquity
11-09-2001, 03:43 AM
Thursday November 8 5:26 PM ET
NIH Posts List of US-Sanctioned Stem Cell Sources
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) -The National Institutes of Health (news - web sites) (NIH) has posted a long-awaited registry of embryonic stem-cell lines that can be used in federally funded research.
At present, the registry lists 11 institutions and companies that between them have 72 permissible stem-cell lines at various stages of development.
According to the NIH, each of these lines has been shown to meet President Bush (news - web sites)'s criteria announced in August. At the time, the president said he would permit the use of federal funds for research on stem-cell lines derived before August 9 with the consent of the embryo's donors. The lines also must have been derived from an excess embryo created for reproductive purposes and donated without financial incentive.
According to the registry, Athens, Georgia-based BresaGen has four acceptable lines, Menlo Park, California-based Geron has seven and San Diego, California-based CyThera has nine. Australia's ES Cell International has six.
Among academic institutions, Sweden's Goteborg University has 19, the largest number of acceptable lines.
``If investigators or institutions have additional human embryonic stem cell lines that they believe are eligible for listing on the registry, please contact NIH at stemcellregistry+od.nih.gov,'' the federal research institution added in an appeal for additional resources.
Scientists familiar with the cell lines have confirmed that some are well-established and ready for studies. However, questions remain about the degree to which academics will be able to gain access to privately owned lines and how well the lines will stand up to research.
The stem-cell registry can be accessed on the NIH Web site at http://escr.nih.gov.
NIH Posts List of US-Sanctioned Stem Cell Sources
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) -The National Institutes of Health (news - web sites) (NIH) has posted a long-awaited registry of embryonic stem-cell lines that can be used in federally funded research.
At present, the registry lists 11 institutions and companies that between them have 72 permissible stem-cell lines at various stages of development.
According to the NIH, each of these lines has been shown to meet President Bush (news - web sites)'s criteria announced in August. At the time, the president said he would permit the use of federal funds for research on stem-cell lines derived before August 9 with the consent of the embryo's donors. The lines also must have been derived from an excess embryo created for reproductive purposes and donated without financial incentive.
According to the registry, Athens, Georgia-based BresaGen has four acceptable lines, Menlo Park, California-based Geron has seven and San Diego, California-based CyThera has nine. Australia's ES Cell International has six.
Among academic institutions, Sweden's Goteborg University has 19, the largest number of acceptable lines.
``If investigators or institutions have additional human embryonic stem cell lines that they believe are eligible for listing on the registry, please contact NIH at stemcellregistry+od.nih.gov,'' the federal research institution added in an appeal for additional resources.
Scientists familiar with the cell lines have confirmed that some are well-established and ready for studies. However, questions remain about the degree to which academics will be able to gain access to privately owned lines and how well the lines will stand up to research.
The stem-cell registry can be accessed on the NIH Web site at http://escr.nih.gov.