Promise of stem cell research still years away

The political climate may be chilling progress on embryonic stem cell research.

By Andis Robeznieks, amednews staff. Sept. 2, 2002.

In the year since President Bush announced his administration's guidelines for the federal funding of stem cell research, the intensity of the debate over the moral and ethical implications has not cooled much.

As the two sides duke it out before Congress and in the media, one fact is often left behind -- any benefit from this research is years away. At least five years, and perhaps even 10, according to one leading researcher.

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"I think there is great promise for these cells to treat diseases, but we're still a long way from that," said Catherine Verfaillie, MD, director of the University of Minnesota Stem Cell Institute in Minneapolis. "There's a lot of hope out there, but I think it's going to take a while."

Using stem cells for tissue regeneration to treat Parkinson's disease or diabetes may be possible "within the next decade or so," Dr. Verfaillie said, but it's likely that the technology will first be used to discover new drugs or for drug toxicity screening.

The promise of stem cell therapies is that one day physicians will be able to replace diseased cells with functional, healthy ones to treat cancer, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and other afflictions. Many scientists believe stem cells from embryos hold the most promise for providing the cellular raw materials for these therapies. But research by Dr. Verfaillie and others is showing that adults' stem cells may be able to achieve similar results.

On Aug. 9, 2001, the president made one of his first major policy announcements when he announced that federal money would be made available for human embryonic stem cell research, but that funding would be limited only to research done on 64 cell lines already in existence.

Only 9 labs applied for first-round federal grants on embryonic stem cell research.

These 64 lines, also called "colonies," met certain qualifications outlined by the president: They were derived from embryos created for reproductive purposes and were no longer needed for those purposes; informed consent was obtained for the donation of the embryo; and no financial inducements were provided for donation of the embryo.

Since that announcement, it has been discovered that there are actually 78 existing colonies that meet the president's criteria. However, many of these remain off-limits to researchers while lawyers work out intellectual property issues.

Also, according to the Assn. of American Medical Colleges, only one stem-cell line owner is currently sharing lines with medical school researchers. All of this adds up to a "chilling effect" on scientists, which -- according to the Washington Post -- has resulted in only nine laboratories applying for the first round of federal grants.

Although human embryonic stem cell research may be limited, animal-based research remains well-funded at both the private and public levels.

National Institutes of Health spokesman Don Robusky said funding for adult stem cell research for this fiscal year was just under $300 million, while funding for embryonic stem cell research -- at this point, at least -- is a function of how many researchers apply for it.

"All of the funding depends on the grant applications we receive that are good enough to be funded," he said.

Only one stem-cell line owner is sharing lines with medical school researchers.

Robusky said the federal government has awarded about $5.1 million in either "infrastructure grants" or "administrative supplements" to help institutions prepare for conducting human embryonic stem cell research.

While government funding remains somewhat tentative, more money may be coming from private sources. Much of this funding, however, may go to researchers outside of the United States.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation announced last month that it seeks to raise $20 million to fund both embryonic and adult stem cell research in eight countries. It also entered into a $7.5 million partnership with the Swedish Diabetes Assn. Research Foundation to pay for stem cell research in that country.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has also awarded $4.4 million in grants to fund nine stem cell research projects going on in both the United States and Sweden.

Lobbying efforts remain strong

American politicians are being lobbied to both increase and halt support of embryonic stem cell research. Opposition comes from groups who say embryonic stem cell research creates human life only to destroy it. In fact, the National Right to Life Committee has started a "No Embryo Farms Campaign," which aims to halt experiments involving human embryo cloning technology.

The right to life movement has championed the adult stem cell research done by Dr. Verfaillie and others as a moral alternative to using embryonic stem cells.

Funding for adult stem cell research in fiscal 2002 was $300 million.

In an essay published in the Kentucky Post, Michael Janocik with the Right to Life Educational Foundation of Kentucky outlined his organization's stance while praising adult stem cell research being conducted at the University of Louisville.

"It should come as no surprise that those who respect human life in the womb do so also in the laboratory. We know that an assault on any innocent human life is an assault on every human life," Janocik wrote. "We urge [the university] to relentlessly pursue the morally superior avenue of adult stem cell research and we want nothing less than a complete restoration of health to those who live with unspeakable suffering. By reject the utilitarian seductions of human cloning research, we will go a long way toward the restoration of our dignity."

Noting that these organizations who champion her work have never even spoken with her, Dr. Verfaillie maintains that both types of stem cell research need to continue because it is unknown which cells will work best for which potential therapies.

"There are way too many basic questions unanswered," she said.

Although embryonic stem cell and cloning issues are often linked, Dr. Verfaillie said that probably "99.9% or more" of research scientists oppose reproductive cloning.

She added that her institute does not work in a vacuum because an ethics advisory board keeps an eye on the research being done there. "It's important to have an open communication with scientists and nonscientists, and to have a sounding board to see if what we're doing is the right thing to do or not," Dr. Verfaillie said.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation apparently agrees, and has called on President Bush to hold a meeting to open up communication between government officials, researchers and the owners of the approved stem cell lines.

Spokeswomen for both JDRF and the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research said they met with Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson on Aug. 9 to discuss stem cell issues, but they have not yet heard back from the administration on their request for a "stakeholder meeting" to remove the obstacles impeding stem cell research.