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The U.S. is at least two to three years behind on stem cell research compared to the rest of the world and may even be close to 10 years behind according to a report from Matthew Perrone of Associated Press. So even when (or if) policies involving stem cell research in the U.S. change with the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, the U.S. will not be up-to-speed with the rest of the world who's been steadily chugging along. In addition, stem cell developers may not be able to find enough funding to conduct their research. With the current economic downturn, States and private universities that had previously planned to invest in stem cell research are no longer be able to do so.
Meanwhile, Asia has not let the stem cell opportunity go by. In 2005, BusinessWeek proclaimed Asia to be "stem cell central" and in September 2007, the Stem Cell Network Asia Pacific (SNAP) was established. Here is a list of some countries in Asia with strong stem cell research communities:
- China - Many companies and scientists believe China is the easiest place to conduct stem cell research. Stem cell treatments have already been tested there in patients with Parkinson's disease, spinal injuries, and other conditions. Earlier this month, NeoStem Inc. acquired a Hong Kong corporation connected with Shandong New Medicine Research Institute that provides regenerative medical therapies in China. NeoStem's press release specifically states that the company wants to offer stem cell therapies to medical tourists from the U.S. and elsewhere.
- Singapore - Singapore's government has invested more than 2 billion US dollars in the biomedical sector. They also recruited Alan Colman, member of the team that cloned Dolly the sheep, to head the Singapore Stem Cell Consortium. He has since left Singapore but stem cell research still continues unabated. Singapore also makes available research grade versions of GMP-manufactured human embryonic stem cell lines from the Singapore Stem Cell Bank.
- Malaysia - Newcastle University of Medicine is slated to open Newcastle University of Medicine, Malaysia (NUMed) in 2011. They plan to focus on stem cell research and commercial applications.
- Japan - As reported this month in Cell Stem Cell, Japanese researchers succeeded in creating for the first time functioning human brain tissue from embryonic stem cells.
- India - From the SNAP website: "The Indian government has an essentially permissive position on various forms of stem cell research, allowing, for example, the derivation of human embryonic stem cell lines, the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer in human cells for research purposes."
- South Korea - From the SNAP website: "(The) Korean government is relatively permissive on various forms of stem cell research from embryonic stem cells, SCNT, iPS generation and adult stem cells."
- Australia - From the SNAP website: "Under the Australian Federal parliament legislation, research has been permitted on human pre-implantation embryos generated after assisted conception treatments (e.g. IVF treatment). This includes the development of human embryonic stem cell lines. It also permits the generation of human somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) or cloned embryos, in order to develop disease-specific or autologous human cell lines."
- Taiwan - The Taiwan Society for Stem Cell Research was established in 2005. In 2007, the Taiwanese government issued new national guidelines on human embryo and embryonic stem cell research and will be sponsoring a Taiwan Stem Cell Bank.
So how about it? Interested in moving to Asia?
NB: I'm a Chinese-American currently living in Singapore.
Photo credit: Human embryonic stem cells, Wellcome Images
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Comments
Hi Hsien-Hsien,
Welcome to the Sciborg!
I just spoke to a South Korean fellow postdoc who told me that the economic downturn has hit his home country's academic institutions hard. It looks like biomed research, both in stem cells and in other disciplines, will be affected here in the US as well as in Asia.
Posted by: Alex Palazzo | November 25, 2008 4:09 PM
The U.S. is at least two to three years behind on stem cell research compared to the rest of the world and may even be close to 10 years behind followed by Here is a list of some countries in Asia with strong stem cell research communities
That's just a list of Asian coutries (OK, so lets take Australia is in Asia) that have sizable and respectable science. (Inclusion of Malasia? - oh, they plan to focus on stem cells?). If you really compare things to the USA, then it's just the usual suspects Japan/South Korea/Singapore. To say that "the U.S. will not be up-to-speed with the rest of the world who's been steadily chugging along" and list Australia/China/India/Taiwan/Malasia is patently absurd given the existing record on the stem cells research.
Posted by: DK | November 25, 2008 11:36 PM
1. "The U.S. is at least two to three years behind on stem cell research compared to the rest of the world and may even be close to 10 years behind"
= false
I think Matthew Perrone very far from subject of topic or he should define what "stem cell research" he is talking about?
Embryonic? Adult? Cord blood? other?
2. "In addition, stem cell developers may not be able to find enough funding to conduct their research."
= not true!
Stem cell developers in US have huge amount of money investment everywhere, even in crisis period. BigPharma, Biotech, Foundations, VC's ready to invest and give good financial support.
So-call "Stem Cell Institutes/Programs" or "Regenerative Medicine Institutes/Units" continue to open in every second US university of Hospital, it's continue to grow and it will continue next year. Is that sign of absence of money???
3. About Asia
yes, perspectives are huge - in research and in industry, but so far Asia still behind US (as well as Europe) in adult SC research. Europe and Asia close or somewhere ahead of US in Embryonic SC research, and finally
Asia ahead of US only in clinical experience and only because of regulation of clinical trials is different. They don't have FDA.
Posted by: Alexey Bersenev | November 26, 2008 12:09 AM
Is the US behind in adult, induced, or embryonic stem cell research? Where are the results from all that research?
What are the actual amounts spent in the US vs. other nations?
As Alexey Bersenev noted, the biggest difference between the US and other countries is our FDA and our research ethics boards.
Posted by: B Nuckols | December 1, 2008 12:44 AM