The Biotech Forum 2004, in Copenhagen, was extremely fortunate to have the eminent stem cell scientist Stephen Minger as a plenary speaker. He gave an international audience of scientists and business leaders a fascinating insight into current stem cell research.

One of the key scientific messages from his presentation was the lack of sufficient amounts of embryonic stem cells to enable any meaningful research or therapy. The only current alternative is therefore to be able to expand and maintain viable stem cells, without causing a reduction in their potency. Such stem cell lines could be derived from IVF material, which cannot be used for implantation, or from umbilical cord blood. However, he discussed the extreme difficulty in culturing stem cells but also the advances which had made, in only the last few years, in creating, for example, viable cultures of neuronal cells.

He went on to discuss the licensing situation for such work in the UK, administered by the HFEA, and suggested this as a sensible model for other countries. The UK, according to Stephen Minger, certainly has one of the best approaches to stem cell work with tight ethical controls which, however, do not impede cutting edge research.

Overall, the current success rate of obtaining viable cell lines from embryonic material, derived from IVF material, is somewhere in the region of 6%. In Europe and the US there are approximately only 70 viable stem cell lines. The UK has recently set up the world’s first stem cell bank, which will supply researchers with characterised stem cell lines.

Stephen finished his talk by describing a recent trip to China and Korea. He had visited a number of stem cell research institutions and was hugely impressed by the high level of work, the attitude of the researchers and the amount of funding. For example, one of the Korea laboratories he had visited had funding of approximately 75 million dollars and had already established 35 stem cell lines. This is a clear reminder of why it is vital that European research has a ’joined up approach’ if it is to effectively compete on a global scale