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Reliance Life Sciences, NCBS may get US funds for stem cell research

Reliance Life Sciences in Bombay and the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore are said to figure in the list of 10 companies and research laboratories that have colonies of human embryonic stem cells that US President George W Bush said are eligible for research with US government funds.

A Washington Post report on Monday said that the National Institutes of Health will soon release the list, kept secret since Bush's Aug 9 announcement.

The Post said that 64 self-renewing colonies, or 'lines', of stem cells are available and in various stages of readiness for study.

The National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore has three, while the Reliance Life Sciences of Bombay has seven lines.

The other laboratories or companies in the list (along with the number of lines in parenthesis) are BresaGen of Athens, Ga. (4); CyThera of San Diego (9); Karolinska Institute of Stockholm (5); Monash Institute of Reproductive Biology in Melbourne, Australia (6); Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa (4); University of California at San Francisco (2); Goteborg University of Goteborg, Sweden (19); and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation of Madison (5).

The newspaper said that scientists familiar with the research believe some of these lines are well established and bear the molecular hallmarks of true embryonic stem cells, which can morph into virtually any kind of human tissue.

The aim of the research is to harness these cells to help patients in need of replacement tissues.

Publication of the list is being seen as a way to quell the debate over whether the 60 or so lines promised by Bush exist and where they are. Till recently, reports had identified no more than 20 cell lines. Medical researchers had also raised concerns about the quality of the cell lines, who controls them and if proper consent has been obtained from embryo donors, the newspaper said.

Several research groups are said to have met with NIH officials over the past few days to provide details about their cells and to discuss intellectual property concerns, which have made some groups hesitant in sharing access to their cells.

The US President had announced that he would permit US government money to be used for research on existing embryonic stem cells.

The cell lines, taken from 5-day-old surplus embryos at fertility clinics, are believed to offer the hope of groundbreaking therapies for debilitating illnesses such as diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, said the Post.

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