ES Cell to supply stem cell lines to US govt

Melbourne's ES Cell International will supply embryonic stem cells to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - the first company outside the United States to enter such an arrangement with the biomedical powerhouse.

Under the memorandum of understanding, NIH scientists will have access to ESI's six existing stem cell lines, which meet criteria outlined by President George Bush last August when he issued guidelines on stem cell research.

The company, which recently brought on board Dolly scientist Dr Alan Colman as chief scientific officer, was keeping tightlipped about the arrangement today.

While it would not disclose the financial benefits of the deal, a statement issued by the NIH quoted chief executive Robert Klupacs as saying the deal was of major importance to ESI.

"It will ensure that we are able to distribute our cell lines widely via the NIH's considerable network of stem cell researchers while maintaining our primary focus, which is on the development of therapeutic products," Klupacs said in the statement.

"NIH researchers and those in their collaborative networks are among the best in the world and all of us in the field will benefit from their input.

"We look forward to distributing our cells and providing training to researchers where required."

Last August, President Bush announced that federally funded researchers could use cells already produced anywhere in the world, so long as they themselves did not destroy any embryos and did not use cells produced after the guidelines were released.

This put ESI in the front line for an arrangement with the US because its six cell lines were created before August last year.

Under the MoU, ESI will retain the commercial rights to its materials and will receive a fee to cover handling and distribution expenses.

The company has also agreed to make the cell lines available to non-profit institutions that receive NIH grants, so long as they enter separate written agreements with ESI.

According to the NIH statement, the arrangement gives scientists access to cell lines enabling them to explore new areas of research.

The scientists will be free to publish research results and the NIH will retain ownership of any new intellectual property arising from the work.

Acting NIH director Dr Ruth Kirschstein said the agreement would be of benefit to scientists interested in pursuing human embryonic stem cell research.

"It will allow science to move forward freely in an important and promising field," Kirschstein said.

"The cell lines being offered are genetically diverse and as such will expand opportunities for researchers to explore important differences among cell lines."

ESI, based at the new Baker Medical Research building at the Alfred Hospital site, describes itself as "a regenerative medicine company focusing on developing therapeutic products from human embryonic stem cells".

The company funds research collaborations with the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, the National University of Singapore, Israel's Hadassah Medical Organisation and the Hubrecht Laboratory in the Netherlands.

The MOU is available on the NIH web site.