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Major company bows out of
embryo research therapies
Second Reading Speech
26 July 2007
“Revelations
in Science that ES Cell International has
left the field of embryonic therapeutic
research must be sounding alarm bells to
investors in this much hyped biotech sector,”
said The Leader of The Nationals in the
Senate, Senator Boswell today.
“ES
Cell International (ESCI) was set up with
the help of Australian investors and the
Singapore government with the aim of being
the world leader in embryonic stem cell
technology. ESCI is also a commercial partner
of the Australian Stem Cell Centre and has
claims to the intellectual property rights
of Monash researchers.”
“So
much for all their claims about miracle
cures and billions of dollars of returns
for investors. The facts of the science
have finally defeated them. As the Science
(July 20) article reports:-
…
making well-functioning insulin-producing
cells "proved really difficult," Colman
says. Both envisioned therapies would need
at least a billion cells for each human
dose. Producing such numbers at the required
purity "becomes very expensive," Colman
says.
“I
have been saying that for years during federal
and state debates on the initial embryonic
research push and then cloning. Embryonic
research for therapies is a no-go because
of the limitations of the science. The only
breakthroughs that can be realistically
applied to patients are in adult stem cell
technology.”
“The
exit of ES Cell International from embryonic
therapies is most significant and vindicates
my often criticised position. There will
be none of the promised miracle cures from
embryonic stem cell research. Members of
Parliaments have been conned into supporting
the destruction and cloning of embryos purely
to support a highly risky investment market
which is now falling apart.”
“Queensland
MLAs who are still to vote on cloning should
take note of the departure of a world leader
in the research field and realise that there
are serious question marks over the validity
and feasibility of continuing down this
path to cloning.”
ENDS –
See
attached extracts of text from ESI and Australian
Stem Cell Centre websites
Articles
from The Australian
Stem-cell
task 'too difficult' by Dennis Shanahan
(Political editor)
Expense
Stems Research by Tess Livingstone
Extracts
from ES Cell International Website
(25/7/07)
Company Profile Driving the Revolutionary
Use of Stem Cells to Cure Major Degenerative
Diseases ESI is concentrating its therapeutic
development on generating cell replacement
therapies using frontier technologies and
methodology towards the treatment of diabetes
and cardiovascular disease.
In both cases there is a significant unmet
clinical need and considerable commercial
opportunity.
ESI's
scientific collaborative partners are located
at:
…
The Australian Stem Cell Centre - Focusing
on stem cell biology, techniques for directed
differentiation and development of haematopoetic
and pancreatic progenitors.
These
programs are led by Drs Andrew Elefanty
and Edward Stanley. ES Cell International
Pte Ltd (ESI) was incorporated in Singapore
in July 2000, with seed capital provided
by two principal investment groups, Life
Science Investments Pte Ltd, a subsidiary
of the Singapore EDB, and ES Cell Australia
Ltd (ESCA), an Australian investment consortium.
Since August 2004, the company has consolidated
its operations to the Biopolis, Singapore’s
premier biomedical research complex.
ESI is focused on developing two cell therapy
opportunities: 1.
The transplantation of hES derived islet
like insulin secreting cells for cell replacement
therapy of diabetes; and 2. The transplantation
of hES derived cardiomyocytes for repair
of cardiac function post heart attack.
If successfully developed, the potential
market for each product is in excess of
$US5 billion per annum.
ESI’s
goal is to have commenced human clinical
trials in one or both of these cell therapy
areas by the end of February 2008.
ESI
was founded to develop human embryonic stem
cells (hES) technologies, developed through
the pioneering efforts of Prof. Ariff Bongso
at NUS and his collaborators at Monash University
in Australia and Hadassah Medical Organisation
in Israel.
The
rights to these technologies have been assigned
to ESI.
Extract
from the Australian Stem Cell Centre Website
25/7/07
The
Australian Stem Cell Centre has established
and continues to seek partnerships with
leaders in research and industry who will
contribute to the Centre's goal of delivering
stem cell therapies to patients.
The
ASCC has a number of collaborative agreements
with industry to advance specific aspects
of stem cell research
.
These are with:… Singapore-based ES Cell
International Pte Ltd (ESI), for commercialisation
of research outcomes at Monash University
relevant to diabetes.
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