Copyright 2004 Boston Herald Inc.  
The Boston Herald
March 4, 2004 Thursday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: FINANCE; Pg. 039
LENGTH: 471 words
BYLINE: By Jennifer Heldt Powell and Kay Lazar

A push by Harvard University to promote stem cell research, including a plan announced yesterday to give away fresh stem cell lines, will bolster the region's dominance in the field amid growing competition, those in the industry say.

Harvard stem cell researchers said they developed 17 lines of embryonic stem cells, using private money to boost research in a field hampered by a limit on federal spending.

President Bush announced in 2001 that federal dollars could be used only for research on existing stem cell lines created from human embryos. But those lines - groups of stem cells derived from the same embryos - generally are costly and some aren't very useful, many researchers say.

Then California and New Jersey passed bills supporting embryonic stem cell research. New Jersey's governor even called for state money to pay for an institute to house the work. California voters are considering pledging money for research in their state.  The moves raised fears that Bay State researchers might bolt for better opportunities.

But the Harvard decision,  along with plans to launch a stem cell research center, will give this region renewed exposure.

"It helps to keep Massachusetts on the map," said Janice Bourque, president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. "Stem cell research is very important. It's one of the many innovations we want to make sure Massachusetts can participate in - and be front and center in."

Harvard researchers outlined in a New England Journal of Medicine article how they developed the stem cell lines. They also said they would share the lines with other scientists who aren't using federal money.

The lines are better than those eligible for federal funding, other researchers say.

"Some of them are cruddy and don't grow well at all, if you can get your hands on them, and most people can't," said Dr. Robert Lanza, Advanced Cell Technology Inc.'s vice president of medical and scientific development.

Many researchers believe stem cells hold the keys to cures and treatments for a wide variety of ailments, such as Parkinson's disease, heart troubles and diabetes.

Embryonic stem cells are thought to hold the most promise because they can most easily be coaxed into becoming other types of cells. But the work has slowed with the federal funding limits.

Researchers in South Korea recently said they'd successfully produced hyman embryonic stem cells from cloned embryos.

That announcement "should have been here in Massachusetts two or three years ago," Lanza said.

In addition to creating stem cell lines, Harvard officials have quietly begun raising money for a new stem cell research initiative and are working out the details. An announcement is expected in April.