"We plan to use the three technologies to
produce cloned, transgenic herds of
knockout pigs that can be used in
xenotransplantation," said Okarma. "We will
be able to generate an unlimited number of genetically identical animals
which do not carry the galactosyltransferase gene and thereby would not
be rejected by a human recipient," he added.
This is an unmitigated crock.
First, one does not need GERN technologies to produce herds which lack the carbohydrate antigen responsible for hyperacute rejection. Folks at ALXN would die laughing when they read this. By the time GERN gets this job done, ALXN and/or Novartis will have been xenografting for five years. Next, the remainder of the statement regarding rejection is really, really either naive or deceptive. Grafts engineered to avoid hyperacute rejection are nonetheless promptly rejected, even with strong immunosuppression. Last, what make GERN think that they'll have any proprietary rights whatsoever to the pig stem cell?
So.... Tom Okarma has joined the BS crowd at GERN? Ouch, that hurts.
Thanks for the pointer, Mike.... interesting stuff.
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