072301Australian Concern Is Latest
To Report Stem-Cell Research

By ANTONIO REGALADO
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

BresaGen Ltd., an Australian company, says it has isolated stem cells from human embryos, bringing to four the number of groups world-wide that have publicly announced doing so.

BresaGen, which has headquarters in Adelaide, Australia, and laboratories and offices in Athens, Ga., said it had extracted stem cells from human embryos originally created for fertility procedures. The work was conducted at a fertility clinic in the Southeastern U.S. BresaGen Chief Executive John Smeaton declined to release the name of the clinic, citing the risk of reprisals by antiabortion activists.

The announcement bolsters growing evidence that research on embryonic stem cells is progressing quickly in the private sector, even as a debate about the future of the research rages in Washington. Federal funding of embryo research is forbidden, but the Bush administration is considering whether to allow the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies to sponsor studies of stem cells derived from embryos.

Embryonic stem cells were first isolated by scientists at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1998. Since then, additional stem-cell lines have been created by a team of academic scientists in Australia, Israel and Singapore and at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Norfolk, Va. The technical success of the Jones Institute, announced two weeks ago, drew criticism because doctors there used embryos that had been created specifically for research.

Dr. Smeaton said the research project had begun in February, and that his company had created four cell lines. The company used embryos deemed unsuitable for medical use, which had been freely donated by patients.

BresaGen is a biotechnology company that markets a growth hormone for horses and works in animal cloning. In November BresaGen bought CytoGenesis, a start-up company on the University of Georgia campus, establishing a U.S. presence. Dr. Smeaton said BresaGen hoped to develop cell-based treatments for Parkinson's disease and other neurological problems.

Write to Antonio Regalado at antonio.regalado@wsj.com