Frederick News Post

I have been chatting with report Ike Wilson at the Frederick News post on and off again over the past week about Stem Cell research as it relates to the Obama administration and potentially lifting restrictions on ES research.

The article ran today.  I wish the FNP would include hyperlinks, but they don’t so I added some.  They also didn’t include my bloody placenta picture, so I added that for additional impact.

Rescinding Bush’s stem cell limits creates biotech glee

Originally published November 21, 2008

By Ike Wilson
News-Post Staff

	IF YOU GO Join BioBeers — a networking event for local biogeeks from MedImmune, Lonza, SAIC, NCI and a group of small biotechs 4:30 p.m. today at the Flying Dog Brewery. The limit is 120 people so RSVP to hardy@gahaga.com or call 301-639-6718.ON THE WEBJim Hardy’s blog fredcobio.wordpress.comIF YOU GO The first Maryland Stem Cell Research Symposium will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 3, at the The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Kossiakoff Conference Center, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel. Keynote speakers include Gov. Martin O’Malley; Rudolf Jaenisch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jeremy Sugarman, Johns Hopkins University. Registration ends Nov. 28. For information on the Symposium or the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, visit www.mscrf.org or e-mail registration and event coordinator Mark Glazer at mglazer@techcouncilmd.com.

President-elect Barack Obama should rescind President Bush’s limits on stem cell research, said Jim Hardy, president and CEO of Gahaga Biosciences Inc. in Frederick.

Bush’s decision not to fund stem cell research is keeping the U.S. behind other countries like Southeast Asia, India, Japan and most parts of Europe, said Hardy, who writes a blog on the Frederick County Biotech Community.

“These countries will likely own most of the patent discoveries and make most of the money off products or therapeutics in the future,” Hardy said.

Obama’s transition chief John Podesta has said the new president could end the ban.

Most current research and therapeutic applications use adult stem cells, not embryonic stem cells, Hardy said.

“Although the Bush legislation only affects embryonic stem cell research, it is having an impact on all stem cell research,” he said.

Hardy said Frederick County has some of the largest suppliers of stem cells in the world, including Lonza, International Stem Cells, Invitrogen and NCI-Frederick.

“So this suppression of stem cell research hits really hard right here at home,” Hardy said.

Gahaga Biosciences was established in 2006 to commercialize a method to isolate stem cells from placental and umbilical tissues for use in basic research. The company provides the scientific community with a variety of products derived from proprietary stem cell purification technologies.

The Bush legislation specifically restricts embryonic stem cell research by institutions using National Institution of Health funds, Hardy said.

Every person has a different DNA and different genes, and science is moving rapidly towards a personalized approach to medicine through genomics research, Hardy said. It will be necessary to look at large populations of cells to understand how differences among individuals are a result of differences in the genetic make-up, or genotype. This relates to disease potential and treatment for medical conditions, he said.

“The more we are learning about genomics, the more we’re convinced that genomics will give answers to many questions regarding human health and wellness,” Hardy said.

Embryonic stem cell research is important for cancer research, Hardy said.

“We think that cancer behaves in some ways like embryonic stem cells. A single cancer cell may generate a whole tumor mass containing many different types of cells in a manner similar to how a single-celled embryo changes into heart, lung, blood, skin and brain cells in the first two weeks after fertilization,” Hardy said.

Biotechnology provides hope for millions of people suffering from debilitating diseases like cancer, HIV and AIDS, Parkinson’s and diabetes, and by reducing the incidence of disease, the industry can dramatically reduce health care costs and help spur economic growth, Biotechnology Industry Organization’s president and CEO Jim Greenwood said in a recent press release.