ACT Set To Launch Stem-Cell Trial Without Embryo Destruction.

The Wall Street Journal (12/14, B2, Rockoff, Subscription Publication) reports Marlborough, Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology Inc. (ACT) says it is ready to undergo the steps it needs to take towards obtaining approval from the Food and Drug Administration to launch what would be first human study involving stem cells that were developed by reprogramming adult cells to return to an embryonic-like condition. The Journal notes that ACT's Chief Scientific Officer Robert Lanza said that the company presently has the capability to produce enough platelets for the initial clinical studies. However, the FDA declined to comment on the pending trials because it is prohibited under Federal law from discussing potential therapies under development. The Journal adds that earlier this year, the two researchers who designed the mature cell reprogramming process, which would cancel the need to use embryos, were awarded a Nobel Prize for their work.

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