Cell Biologists Question Success of Bush Embryonic Stem Cell Policy on First Anniversary (8/7/02)

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For Immediate Release Contact: Kevin Wilson
August 7, 2002 301-347-9300

Bethesda, Md. - One year ago, President Bush announced that he would permit Federal funds to be used only for research with human embryonic stem cells derived before August 9, 2001, the date of his speech. In his nationally televised address, the President acknowledged the considerable promise of embryonic stem cells for developing new kinds of therapies for a multitude of serious diseases and physical handicaps.

Twelve months later, scientists have had to accept that the cell lines made available a year ago have yielded little promise. Many of the stem cell lines identified by the President are not available to researchers and the unavailable cells are the private property of the companies that have been growing them.

The Embryonic Stem Cell Registry, a key component of the policy, was not made available to researchers until three months after the August announcement. When finally released, it contained a limited amount of information about the presidentially approved stem cell lines. In addition, the Bush Administration has done little to encourage implementation of the August 9, 2001 policy and the current domestic political climate has not helped encourage researchers to become involved in stem cell research.

"The quality of many of the cells that were approved remains dubious and others are still unavailable because the supply is constrained by resource limitation, intellectual property considerations and the inevitable "what I made is mine" behavior," said Dr. Paul Berg, Nobel Laureate and Chair of the American Society for Cell Biology Public Policy Committee. Of those cell lines that are available only a few have proven fit for even preliminary studies. "By far the most serious drawback to the cell lines that are available is their very limited genetic diversity and the likelihood that they will be unusable for developing the clinically promising benefits of regenerative medicine," says Berg. That deficiency has, unfortunately, also been enveloped in the human cloning debate. Consequently, the President has strongly opposed attempts to extend the utility of embryonic stem cells for important lines of fundamental science and more importantly to explore their potential utility for breakthrough medical therapies.

The American Society for Cell Biology represents over 10,000 basic biomedical researchers across the United States and around the world. Because stem cells are critical to the future of biomedical research, the American Society for Cell Biology has played a leading role in the efforts to federally fund stem cell research.