Sen. Santorum Works with Biotech Community to Highlight Alternatives in Stem Cell Research

As voters seek to make sense of the contentious, complex stem cell debate, Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has taken the lead in shining a spotlight on promising alternatives to embryonic stem cell research.

In association with the Senate Republican Conference, Sen. Santorum recently convened a forum on Capitol Hill, with the Senator's Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Act (S.2754) heading the agenda.

At the forum, Francisco Silva, lead researcher at PrimeCell™ Therapeutics, joined an esteemed panel of scientists from Stanford University, MIT's White Head Institute, and Oregon Health and Science University.

The panel also featured Dr. Alan Russell, from the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Institute at the University of Pittsburgh.

"Our outreach to officials in Washington D.C. confirmed that identifying the most efficient route from stem cell research to real therapies for various life-threatening conditions is a top priority," said Tom Yuen, chairman and CEO, PrimeCell Therapeutics.

"Sen. Santorum is to be applauded for his work in looking past this debate and opening up a discussion in an area that shows real promise."

"The Senator recognizes that in addition to embryonic stem cell research there are other alternatives that can provide highly therapeutic material and that the federal government needs to do what it can to support these alternatives."

Countering the conventional wisdom that adult stem cells cannot yield pluripotent stem cells, PrimeCell Therapeutics has derived a pluripotent adult stem cell - known as PrimeCell - in a breakthrough that could expedite the movement from research to therapy.

Derived from adult germ-line stem cells, Human derived PrimeCell have been transformed into heart, nerve, bone and cartilage cells.

Using markers consistent with those found in embryonic stem cells, PrimeCells exhibit embryonic-like abilities, but do not involve the creation or destruction of embryos.