Washington Editor

WASHINGTON - Just days after President Bush vetoed a bill that would have broadened federal funding for embryonic stem cells, the European Union's Council of Ministers chose to continue its support of such research to a large degree.

The funds will come from a broad budget of €50 billion ($63 billion) for all areas of science over the next seven years. During that time, researchers in European countries where national law allows embryonic stem cell research will be able to apply for grants to support certain projects.

"It lets science be the driver, it lets biology be the driver, rather than other considerations," said Linda Powers, a member of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission and a managing director of Toucan Capital Corp. in Bethesda, Md. "But the EU didn't arrive at its decision easily. There was a lot of debate and a lot of controversy."

As a result, the decision, which was reached during a special meeting in Brussels, Belgium, comes with some restrictions on the funding.

The money will be allowed for research on already derived cell lines, but it cannot be used in research that destroys human embryos, including efforts to procure stem cells. That limit was put in place as a compromise for countries opposed to EU funding into any embryonic stem cell research, a bloc led by Germany, which has outright restrictions against the research.

The concession "broke the logjam," said attorney Steve Bent of Foley & Lardner LLP, a law firm with a large number of overseas clients in the embryonic stem cell space.

Powers generally applauded the bargain, noting that "this leaves 90 percent of the activity permissible." That, she told BioWorld Today, "is totally different" from the policy that Bush upheld upon issuing his veto of H.R. 810 last week, although she characterized the 63-37 Senate vote as "significant progress."

While some critics howled that the EU compromise would prove too restraining for researchers, others such as the Vatican voiced concern that the policy nonetheless promotes the destruction of human life.

The latter criticism is aligned with Bush's thoughts on embryonic stem cell research, which he said "crosses a moral boundary."

His action last week blocked a measure that would have allowed federal money for research on excess embryos produced at in vitro fertilization clinics. The bill, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, enjoyed bipartisan support in both the Senate and House of Representatives, but not enough to override the president's veto. (See BioWorld Today, July 20, 2006.)

Bush's ongoing current policy limits federal funding to research on embryonic stem cell lines created before Aug. 9, 2001, and the White House indicated that more than $90 million has gone into it since that time.

Other research ineligible for EU funding includes human cloning for reproductive purposes or to modify the genetic heritage of human beings. But Powers stressed the overall openness of the EU's policy compared to U.S. restrictions on federal funding, calling it "night-and-day different from our situation."

As a result, it seems highly plausible that further embryonic stem cell research could migrate overseas, a troubling thought given that the number of stem cell research articles originating in the U.S. already is falling, and to a lesser extent so could some companies. Ongoing scientific emigration represents one source of lagging U.S. leadership in this space, Powers said, as is the fact that other scientists have been operating more openly abroad for quite some time at this point.

In the end, Europe could become a bona fide center of all forms of stem cell research, leading to "a fledgling expertise" there, said Michael Werner, the president of the Werner Group, a Washington-based life sciences consulting firm.

"The status quo in the U.S. kind of adds fuel to the fire for European countries," he told BioWorld Today. "They have an opportunity to invest in this and attract business, or allow their own companies to take the lead."

Those thoughts were further echoed by Bent, who told BioWorld Today that "this is yet another reason for a U.S. researcher to go abroad," especially in light of slow-to-launch state-level initiatives that many had hoped would boost embryonic stem cells stateside despite Bush's restrictive policy.

The EU compromise will go back to the European Parliament this fall for final approval.