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To: Bill Harmond who wrote (8139)	8/3/2001 12:35:15 PM
From: Libbyt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

GERN I just bought a position in GERN for a long term hold. IMO GERN is considered the leader in embryonic stem cell research. Their purchase of the Roslin Bio-Med will allow their continued research outside of the US if a complete stem cell ban is passed by Congress. I believe they bought Roslin for the "Dolly" technology, and their investment in Roslin IMO makes GERN one of the "survivors" in this area of research. If there is a complete ban on stem cell research in the U.S., probably many of the researchers in this area will move to England where the laws are favorable for stem cell research. Biotech Execs Predict Brain Drain By PAUL ELIAS, AP Biotechnology Writer Wednesday August 1 5:52 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The United States can expect a scientific exodus if Congress succeeds in criminalizing so-called therapeutic human cloning for medical purposes, some biotechnology executives predicted Wednesday. ``If this is outlawed in the United States, we will see our best scientific minds moving overseas,'' said Tom Tureen, a director of Advanced Cell Technology, the only U.S. company that has gone public with plans to clone eggs to make human embryos for use in a variety of therapies. Tureen spoke a day after the House of Representatives voted to make all human cloning illegal, even for medical purposes, and punishable by up to $1 million in fines and 10 years in prison. A companion bill awaits action in the Senate, where Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said he's ``opposed to the effort to clone under virtually any circumstances.'' In cloning, scientists remove the nucleus from an egg and replace it with the nucleus from an adult cell, which contains the DNA of the donor. The egg is allowed to develop into an embryo. For reproduction, the embryo would be placed in a woman's womb and carried until birth. For developing medical treatments, stem cells would be removed, which kills the embryo. Advanced Cell, based in Worcester, Mass., plans to create and grow embryos without sperm, using the same cloning technology that created Dolly the sheep. The process involves taking stem cells from four-day-old embryos. Researchers say these stem cells can be grown into cells capable of repairing the heart, liver, brain and other vital organs. Advanced Cell and other companies working in the area believe therapeutic cloning is key to the success of the medicine of the future, which they say will revolutionize medical care - and promote longevity of those who can afford it - by regenerating sick tissue. Because the cells used in treatment originate from the genetic material of the patient being treated, proponents say therapeutic cloning is the best way to avoid immune rejection, considered the biggest obstacle to making regenerative medicine workable. Although Advanced Cell has yet to clone a human embryo, it is s working hard to do so and has already collected eggs from paid donors. ``This work will probably go to England,'' where therapeutic cloning is legal, Tureen said. One leading stem cell expert, Roger Pedersen of the University of California at San Francisco, has already left the United States for a post at Cambridge University in Britain, and UCSF is considering shutting down its research lab as a result. Pedersen cited the difficult U.S. political climate as among his reasons for leaving. At least two other biotech companies, Geron Corp. (NasdaqNM:GERN - news) of Menlo Park, Calif. and Biotransplant Inc. (NasdaqNM:BTRN - news) of Charlestown, Mass. are hedging their bets by investing in cloning companies outside the United States. Geron, the commercial leader in embryonic stem cell research, in 1999 purchased Scotland's Roslin Bio-Med, which cloned Dolly. Biotransplant, meanwhile, invested in the Australian company Stem Cells Sciences, which is doing what Advanced Cell hopes to do: cloning embryos for their stem cells. Proponents contend that cloning is the best way to avoid immune rejection. Biotransplant CEO Elliot Lebowitz said that the United States' loss could be his company's gain, given his Australian connections. ``Because of our relationship with Stem Cell Sciences our position will be enhanced,'' Lebowitz said. ``The world outside the U.S. does represent a large market as big as the one here.'' dailynews.yahoo.com