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CAMR Urges Bush to Expand Access to ESC’s
Monday, 11 August 2003

Washington, DC — Two years after the President's decision on whether or not to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research (August 9, 2001), scientists, patient groups, and universities agree that progress in the US is stalling due to the limited scope of the Administration's policy.

The current policy, which allows federal funds to be used only on stem cell lines derived before August 9, 2001, has hindered critical research advances from being made. Embryonic stem cell research could help over 100 million Americans affected by life-threatening diseases and conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries, ALS, and many others.

"These past two years have only made it clearer that the promise of stem cell research is so strong that the restrictive policy must be changed," said Michael Manganiello, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR).

CAMR, comprised of nationally recognized patient groups, universities, and scientific societies, led the charge to support federal funding of stem cell research and has led the efforts opposing a ban on therapeutic cloning.

"The only thing we know for sure is that the President's policy has caused US federally-funded researchers to be forced to drive in the slow lane while the rest of the world speeds by," said Larry Goldstein, PhD, professor of cellular and molecular medicine, UCSD.

Some of the major issues with the current stem cell policy are:

• Only 11 of the 78 promised stem cell lines on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) registry are available for researchers, and the lines are not genetically or racially diverse enough to meet researcher needs;
• The NIH is projecting to spend only $17 million in 2003 for human embryonic stem cell research, far short of the $100 million advocated by Secretary Thompson;
• The National Cancer Institute is projecting $0 funding for human embryonic stem cell research in 2003, despite statements by top cancer researchers that human embryonic stem cell research has great potential for advancing research in their field;
• Developing therapies for patients from the available stem cell lines may prove difficult since the lines were made using mouse feeder cells and bovine serums, and are thus potentially subject to FDA xenotransplantation regulations. Researchers are also hesitant to use these lines for patient therapies when uncontaminated lines are being developed in the private sector and in other countries;
• The US is falling behind other countries that are making more progress with embryonic stem cell research. The U.K. has even taken the lead in chairing the international meetings of key stem cell funding agencies.