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July 29, 2011 – Earlier this week, a federal judge who suspended federal funding of embryonic stem cell research a year ago dismissed the lawsuit on which he’d based that decision. The dismissal, which allows the federal government to continue to fund embryonic stem cell research, falls in line with Obama administration policy put into place in 2009. “This decision enables federally funded researchers to move forward with work that holds terrific promise for the development of treatments for retinal degenerative diseases,” says Stephen Rose, Ph.D., chief research officer at the Foundation Fighting Blindness. “The Foundation funds the world’s top retinal researchers, including those making great advancements in the development of stem cell therapies. But in addition to private and non-profit funding, federal funding is key to allowing this kind of research to continue.”The lawsuit was originally filed in 2009 by two scientists claiming that then-new National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines allowing for stem cells to be reproduced in controlled conditions violated a 1996 federal law that bars the use of federal funds for research that destroys embryos. In August 2010, Chief Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. agreed with the scientists and issued an injunction halting funding. A few weeks later, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit blocked the injunction as it began deliberations on the case. In April, a three-judge panel from that court found that the 1996 law is “ambiguous” and does not prohibit all embryonic stem cell research, including that which derives cells from federally approved stem cell lines housed at NIH. In his 38-page opinion, Judge Lamberth stated that he’d considered “the entire record in this case,” including the appellate court’s decision, in arriving at his dismissal. Embryonic stem cells are arguably the most powerful stem cell type, because they can be directed to become almost any cell type in the body, including retinal cells. Generally speaking, embryonic stem cells are more flexible and easily replicated than other cell types. The Foundation supports the use of stem cells in retinal research because of their great potential for saving and restoring vision. They can also be a valuable resource in the discovery and evaluation of new drugs and treatments. Two examples of how they’re currently being used are the Phase I/II clinical trials for a retinal-disease treatment being conducted by Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), a biotechnology company. ACT’s treatment involves the transplantation of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, which are derived from human embryonic stem cells. RPE cells degenerate in several retinal conditions, including Stargardt disease and age-related macular degeneration, both of which cause progressive, devastating vision loss. While ACT’s trials are not federally funded, they’re representative of potential vision-saving research that demands funding from various sources, including the federal government.
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