The Cyberabad Times

ICMR pushes ahead with stem cell research

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has drawn a roadmap that aims at starting clinical trials with human embryonic stem cells by 2010, ICMR director general N K Ganguly said in Hyderabad today. He said an ICMR institute in Mumbai, the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH), has started creating the cell lines using spare human embryos from in-vitro fertilization clinic.While the cell lines available in the US were derived using mouse "feeder" cells, NIRRH will use feeder layers made by using human fetal tissue, Ganguly said while inaugurating a symposium on molecular medicine and health at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here. The ICMR institute is collaborating with the IVF center in Mumbai run by Indira Hinduja, famous for creation of India's first test tube baby in the 1980s. Ganguly said that the project has been cleared by the ethics committee, aimed at establishing human embryonic stem cell lines by 2007 and launching clinical trials by 2010. Embryonic stem cells can be induced to change into cells forming various organs in the body and thus offer the potential for treating diabetes or heart disease. According to Ganguly, the ICMR guidelines allow use of spare human embryos less than 14-day old for therapeutic purposes with consent of donors, but prohibit the creation of such embryos specifically for commercial purposes. ICMR has funded seven stem cell projects and four more are under consideration. "Stem cell therapy has a big market in India in future," he said.

Source:PTI

ICMR pushes ahead with stem cell research

Live Weather

Picture of the day

Market Watch

Horoscopes

Contact : Cyberabad Times

Disclaimer