The MRC has welcomed the EU Commission’s statement on the provisions of the current framework for funding stem cell research in Horizon 2020 in response to the ‘One of Us’ Citizens’ Initiative. The initiative sought a ban on all financing of activities that presuppose the destruction of human embryos, including stem cell research. Such a ban would have had a negative impact on research involving human embryos for regenerative medicine, reproductive health and genetic disease.
Stem cell research has the potential to lead to the development of treatments and therapies for patients suffering from diseases and illnesses including incurable neurodegenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and motor neurone diseases, as well as chronic conditions such as type 1 diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, liver damage, spinal cord damage, stroke and blindness, with a number of clinical trials underway. Many of these conditions will increase in prevalence with an ageing population and will become one of the most significant health and economic burdens facing Europe.
A number of clinical trials of human embryonic stem cell therapies are currently underway in Europe and the US, to see if stem cells can repair damaged tissue in several conditions – including spinal cord injury, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common form of blindness. However stem cell research and specifically human embryonic stem cell research is a relatively new field; human embryonic stem cells were first isolated in 1998. Comparatively, other therapies currently in use, for example monoclonal antibodies, have taken up to 25 years to develop into large-scale therapeutics. It is therefore imperative that all avenues of stem cell research are kept open and proportionately regulated until scientists are able to find the optimal techniques and materials to develop therapies.
Dr Robin Buckle, MRC Head of Regenerative Medicine said,
“The MRC welcomes the response from the European Commission and its continuing support for funding for stem cell research, which will help scientists to translate the burgeoning knowledge in regenerative medicine into new treatment strategies. During its last Framework Programme the Commission established a number of collaborative stem cell programmes which have global recognition, and it was essential that the Commission endorsed its existing support in this area as any new restrictions could potentially have been highly damaging to European science and competitiveness.”
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