May 28, 2014

expert reaction to European Commission response to ‘One of Us’ European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) on human embryo use

The European Commission issued a response to the ‘One of Us’ European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) on human embryo use in medical research.

Dr Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said:

“We are pleased to see that the European Commission has rejected calls for funding for stem cell research to be restricted. Stem cell research continues to be one of the most promising fields of biomedical research, and any proposal to restrict funding for research in this area would have had significantly negative impacts for health.

“European Commission funding must continue to be available to support scientists in the fields of regenerative medicine and reproductive health given the huge opportunities for advances in health, society and the economy it can bring to Europe. We are pleased to see the Commission reiterate this support.”
 

Alastair Kent, Director of Genetic Alliance UK, said:

“Many thousand genetic conditions affect Europeans, of which very few have either a cure or an effective treatment. Our community looks towards biomedical research as the eventual source of cures and effective treatments for the conditions affecting our patients and families. With so much still to achieve, we need all valid research routes to remain open. Research involving embryonic stem cells is one of these routes.”

Dr Robin Buckle, MRC Head of Regenerative Medicine, said:

“The MRC welcomes the response from the European Commission and its continuing support for funding for stem cell research, which will help scientists to translate the burgeoning knowledge in regenerative medicine into new treatment strategies. During its last Framework Programme the Commission established a number of collaborative stem cell programmes which have global recognition, and it was essential that the Commission endorsed its existing support in this area as any new restrictions could potentially have been highly damaging to European science and competitiveness.”

Declared interests

None declared