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Public release date: 23 January 2009
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Spinal cord injury treatment based human embryonic stem cells; study
The U.S. biotech company Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, California announced it plans to start this summer a long-awaited
project aimed at spinal cord injury targeting treatment based on human embryonic stem cells.
According to Thomas Okarma, president and CEO of Geron Corp., the company gained federal permission this week to inject eight to 10 patients with cells derived from embryonic cells. Mr Okarma added that the patients will be paraplegics, who can use their arms but can't walk. Doctors aim to test the safety of the procedure, but they will also look for signs of improvement like return of sensation or movement in the legs.
Each patient will receive a low dose of anti-rejection drugs for about two months, because after that time the medications shouldn't be needed. Then, the study will follow each patient for at least a year.
Whatever its finding, this research will mark a new chapter in the contentious history of embryonic stem cell research in the United States — a field where debate spilled out of the laboratory long ago and into national politics.
Embryonic stem cells can develop into any cell of the body, and scientists have long hoped to harness them for creating replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases. But research has been controversial because embryos must be destroyed to obtain them. For this reason, a lot of hope of the spinal cord injury community is riding on this trial.
Okarma also said he can't estimate how much such a therapy would cost if it proves effective, but the company expectation is
not going to be a $500,000 price tag. He hopes the cost will be remarkably affordable in the context of the value it provides.
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Geron Corp. has spent at least $100 million on human embryonic stem cell research. Founded in 1992, it does not have any therapies on the market.
However, the company is considered the world's leading embryonic stem cell developer thanks to its claims on several key stem cell technologies. Geron helped finance researchers at the University of Wisconsin who first isolated human embryonic stem cells in 1998. The company has retained exclusive rights on several of those cell types.
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