In April of last year, the US Food and Drug Administration invited three large biotech companies - Geron, Advanced Cell Technology, and Novocell - to testify about how to safely test human embryonic stem cell (ESC) products in patients. The science was discussed, recommendations were made, and, seemingly, everyone was on the same page toward moving ESCs into the clinic.
Then, in May, the FDA put a hold on California-based Geron's clinical trial of an ESC-based therapy to treat spinal cord injury. In July, Advanced Cell Technology, a biotech company in Massachusetts trying to use ESCs to treat blindness, declared it was on the brink of bankruptcy. Meanwhile, California stem cell company Novocell narrowed its scientific focus, scrapping plans to target cancer stem cells or generate liver cells. Outside the United States, the picture isn't much prettier: In 2007, ES Cell International in Singapore ditched its ESC therapy programs.
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