Federal Health Agency Revokes Contract with Fetal Tissue Supplier

Health and Human Services plans to review all research involving human fetal tissue.

Sukanya Charuchandra
| 2 min read

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The US Department of Health and Human Services has canceled a contract between the Food and Drug Administration and a supplier of human fetal tissue, Advanced Bioscience Resources, according to an announcement on September 24. The company would have received $15,900 for human fetal tissue that would be used to make a laboratory mouse’s immune system more closely resemble a human’s, according to BuzzFeed News.

The move was preceded by a letter addressed to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb a week ago in which 85 House Republicans said they were troubled with the then-active contract. The letter also claimed that the supplier had broken federal and state laws in the course of its sale of human fetal tissue.

Health and Human Services (HHS) says in the statement it “was not sufficiently assured that the contract included the appropriate protections applicable to fetal tissue ...

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Meet the Author

  • Sukanya Charuchandra

    Sukanya Charuchandra

    Originally from Mumbai, Sukanya Charuchandra is a freelance science writer based out of wherever her travels take her. She holds master’s degrees in Science Journalism and Biotechnology. You can read her work at sukanyacharuchandra.com.

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