Stem cell business ventures span the globe

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 23, 2006

Second of three parts

Two high-profile California companies - neither of which makes a profit - are the business face of embryonic stem cells in the United States .

Geron Inc. and Advanced Cell Technology Inc., which moved to California from Massachusetts in February, have publicly carried the torch for the promise of embryonic stem cells to produce therapies for spinal cord injuries and for diseases ranging from diabetes to Alzheimer's.

Both are linked to Michael West, Advanced Cell Technology's top executive and chief scientific officer. West founded Geron and oversaw its funding of some of the research that led to University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist James Thomson's isolation of human embryonic stem cells in 1998.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has granted Geron an exclusive license to develop diagnostics and therapeutics from cells derived from embryonic stem cells for three of the more than 200 cell types in the body: heart, neural and pancreatic cells.

Geron funded recent studies in which mice and rats with paralysis have regained the ability to move their legs after receiving transplants of embryonic stem cells. The company has asked federal regulators for permission to do human testing in this area, which is controversial because some believe the science isn't far enough along.

Many bigger companies are quietly pursuing embryonic stem cell strategies.

Becton, Dickinson & Co. of Franklin Lakes, N.J., which markets medical supplies, devices and diagnostic systems, has licensed embryonic stem cell lines from WARF.

Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, N.J., has taken an equity interest in Novocell Inc., a Carlsbad, Calif., company trying to create insulin-producing cells from embryonic stem cells.

General Electric Co., through its GE Healthcare subsidiary, is working with Stem Cell Sciences Ltd. of Scotland to develop a test using cell lines. Researchers at its global research and development center in suburban Albany, N.Y., plan to use embryonic stem cells to develop drug-testing products.

Singapore has lured scientists from the United States and elsewhere with its commitment to building a biomedical powerhouse and a hands-off policy on human embryonic stem cell research. The city-state has invested $4 billion in biotech and committed an additional $8 billion through 2010.

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