PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsEU research funding programme may not support embryonic stem cell research

BioNews

EU research funding programme may not support embryonic stem cell research

Published 8 October 2012 posted in News and appears in BioNews 676

Author

Tom Barrow

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.

The future funding of human embryonic stem cell research under the European Union may be in jeopardy after its inclusion in the next research funding programme is challenged by MEPs....

The future funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research under the European Union (EU) may be in jeopardy
after its inclusion in the next research funding programme is challenged by MEPs.

A Nature News blog reports the
European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee voted to exclude hESC research
from Horizon 2020, the EU research and innovation programme due to run from
2014, citing the contentious decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) prohibiting
the granting of patents for processes that involve the destruction of embryos at any stage.

The Committee said if hESC research
cannot be patented under European law, then it could not contribute to economic
competitiveness and should not be funded by Horizon 2020. Patents are required
to help stimulate EU competition, which is one of the intended functions of the
funding programme.

In the draft proposals of
Horizon 2020, the €80 billion programme would finance stem cell research including
hESC research, which is allowed under the current programme. However, four
pro-life MEPs, who do not agree with public funds contributing to such research,
have indicated that they intend to challenge the legality of Horizon 2020 for
its inclusion of hESC research.

Peter Liese, an MEP from
Germany who opposes the programme, was quoted in Europolitics as saying: 'We reject harmonisation of
national regulations on this sensitive issue in Europe'. Two key issues that
opponents of Horizon 2020 intend to address are the patentability of hESC research and how projects currently under way are to be funded.

The ECJ judgment forms a focal
point for the argument against the programme, as Professor Klaus Gärditz of the University of Bonn in
Germany submits. He told Europolitics that 'life cannot be taken away to be
marketed'.

'Human dignity...is a primary
right', he said. 'Research on embryonic stem cells must therefore be excluded
by substantive law. If certain prohibited areas are subsidised, the entire
framework programme is in danger. The risk to European research is huge'.

Supporters of hESC under the Horizon
2020 programme argue that the research is essential for the development of treatments
for disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone
disease. It is also argued that alternatives to hESC research, such as using induced pluripotent stem cells or adult stem cells, are insufficient methods in comparison. Fundamentally,
those in favour of hESC research say that cell lines used are obtained
from IVF clinics, and would otherwise be destroyed.

The UK and Europe are at the
pinnacle of stem cell research, says Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director
at the British Heart Foundation, who argues that 'any scaling back of the EU's
investment would send out a dangerous message that could seriously damage this
area of research in Europe, to the detriment of patients in the future'.

Sir Mark Walport, director of
the Wellcome Trust, in an earlier joint statement urging funding of hESC research in Europe, said: 'The European Parliament must send a clear sign that
it recognises the importance of [hESC] research...to close down such a vital
avenue of research would be a massive blow to European science'.

'It will significantly set
back research into very serious diseases including Parkinson's and multiple
sclerosis and is likely to cost European research its competitive advantage',
he added.

Whether Horizon 2020, as it
stands, is to be advanced or rejected needs to be decided by the EU's Parliament
and Council by the end of 2013.

Related Articles

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
30 May 2014 • 3 minutes read

EU Commission rejects petition to stop funding embryonic stem cell research

by Patricia Cassidy

The European Commission has rejected a petition requesting a stop to the funding of research involving the 'presupposed destruction' of human embryos....

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
28 March 2013 • 2 minutes read

US court upholds federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research

by Vicki Kay

The US Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling permitting the use of federal funds for research involving human embryonic stem cells....

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
News
23 January 2013 • 2 minutes read

US embryonic stem cell researchers face logistical and funding difficulties

by Dr Antony Starza-Allen

A survey of over 200 human embryonic stem cell (hESC) researchers in the US has found almost four in ten respondents had experienced delays in obtaining cell lines and over one-quarter said they were unable to obtain a required cell line at all....

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
Reviews
15 January 2013 • 4 minutes read

Event Review: European Union Ban on Human Embryonic Stem Cell Patents - A Threat to Science and the Rule of Law

by Amy Strange

The recent ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) excluding inventions relating to human embryonic stem cells (ES cells) from patentability has sparked a heated debate in the bioscience, ethics and law communities...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
11 January 2013 • 2 minutes read

US Supreme Court: Challenge to expand stem cell funding rejected

by Sarah Pritchard

The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a final appeal seeking to challenge the legality of using public money to fund embryonic stem cell (hESC) research...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
Comment
17 December 2012 • 3 minutes read

German Brüstle decision puts spotlight on national patent guidelines

by Julian Hitchcock

In November the case of Brüstle v Greenpeace was remitted to the German Federal High Court. How would a national court interpret the controversial ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union which held that patent rights could not be granted in the EU for the use of any entity 'capable of commencing the process of development of a human being'?...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
13 December 2012 • 2 minutes read

Ban on embryonic stem cell patents by European Court of Justice

by Dr Antony Starza-Allen

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that stem cell processes which require the prior destruction of human embryos or are based upon the use of human embryos are not patentable. The decision may have wide implications for scientists engaged in embryonic stem cell research....

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
News
3 December 2012 • 1 minute read

German court upholds Brüstle patent as valid

by Dr Antony Starza-Allen

The German Federal Court of Justice has ruled that a disputed patent held by Dr Oliver Brüstle, and the subject of a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against the patentability of human embryonic stem cells, is valid in its revised form....

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
8 October 2012 • 3 minutes read

EU urged to continue funding stem cell research

by Dr Antony Starza-Allen

Six major UK research funding bodies have called for the continued funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research in the EU's programme for research and development...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Professors Gurdon and Yamanaka awarded Nobel Prize for work on stem cells

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
13 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Drop in diversity of blood stem cells leads to old-age health issues

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

UK report reveals public attitudes to fertility, genomics and embryo research

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Shortage of sperm donors despite men willing to donate

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

North East London CCG proposes offering three funded IVF cycles

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Fibrosis drugs reverse ovarian ageing in mice

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Gene implicated in motor neurone diseases discovered

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856