stem cell bank to open

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*Article from The Associated Press*

Government to Open 'Stem Cell Bank'

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

The Associated Press

Wednesday, July 14, 2004; 8:22 AM

WASHINGTON - The government plans to open a " national bank " to

better grow the only embryonic stem cells eligible for government-funded

research, holding firm against critics who want Bush administration

restrictions on the controversial cells lifted.

In addition, the National Institutes of Health plans to spend

$18 million over four years to establish three " centers of excellence "

to speed research on the currently available cell lines.

" The president's embryonic stem cell policy holds tremendous

and yet-untapped potential, " Health and Human Services Secretary

Tommy wrote in a letter to be sent to members of Congress

on Wednesday. " Before anyone can argue that the stem cell policy

should be broadened, we must first exhaust the potential " of

currently available lines.

The proposals don't satisfy critics who say Bush's policy is

stifling groundbreaking research, particularly by limiting to

just a few the number of cell lines available to study.

" It's window dressing, " said Yamamoto, executive vice medical

dean at the University of California, San Francisco, a leading

center of stem cell research. " The call for more cell lines is

not simply that scientists want more of the same. ... The fundamental

questions we need to ask come partly from what we learn by deriving

them. "

" This important research field has a cloud over its head, " said

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. " Regrettably, today's announcement

doesn't appear to make that future any more certain. "

Embryonic stem cells are master cells that form during the early

days after conception and can turn into any tissue in the body.

Many scientists hope to one day harness them to grow replacement

tissue to treat diabetes, spinal cord injuries and other diseases.

But because culling stem cells kills the embryo, which many religious

groups oppose, President Bush has ordered the NIH not to fund

any research on such cells harvested after Aug. 9, 2001.

Former first lady Reagan has called for the restrictions

to be lifted, and 58 senators from both parties earlier this

month asked the president to, also.

In response, HHS' argues that federal funding of embryonic

stem cell research didn't exist before 2001 and now has reached

$24.8 million - and says the new proposals should further accelerate

it:

- The National Embryonic Stem Cell Bank would get samples from

today's 19 approved sources - companies or others who created

them - and grow them under specially controlled conditions. That's

important because today's hodgepodge of growing conditions can

affect research outcomes, said NIH Director Elias Zerhouni. One

central source also will lower the cost, from the $5,000 per

shipment some researchers pay today to several hundred dollars,

he said.

- The " centers of excellence " would pair basic biologist who

are today's prime stem cell researchers with physicians to accelerate

research into useful therapies, Zerhouni said.

Universities including UCSF and Harvard already are doing this

so-called translational research using their own money, Yamamoto

noted.