In light of yesterday’s refusal by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case that could have prohibited further government funding of embryonic stem cell research on ethical grounds, a sigh of relief was expressed by many leaders in the field.
Doug Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute , said, “We couldn’t be happier that this frivolous, but at the same time potentially devastating distraction is behind us, and we can once again focus all our attention on advancing all forms of stem cell science, including research using embryonic stem cells – which are the gold standard against which we measure other types.”
Robert Lanza, chief science officer for Advanced Cell Technology: “We’re obviously delighted with the Supreme Court’s decision,” he told me in an email. “However, it’s a shame it took this long to put this lawsuit to rest, not to mention the potentially life-saving research it held up or slowed in the process.”
Advanced Cell had a pretty good year from a scientific perspective.
The California-based company’s clinical trials for the treatment of Stargardt Disease with embryonic stem (ES) cells have proceeded without any safety issues. Plans to derive blood platelets from reprogrammed, or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), have also been submitted to the FDA for approval. Read full article.
