BioWorld International Correspondent

LONDON - Nine leading research funding bodies from around the world met in London last week to agree to an international program of collaborative research in stem cells.

The meeting was convened by the UK's Medical Research Council to encourage collaboration in the field across nations and across disciplines. George Radda, chief executive of the MRC, said it was very constructive for stem cell research, laying the foundation for a global approach.

"The agencies from around the world that met in London recognize the long-term potential of stem cell research for human health, but also are aware of the concerns raised by new ethical challenges in this type of research."

The meeting discussed the prospects that stem cell research offers for generating new insights into fundamental cell biology and developmental processes. It also examined the potential for developing cell-based treatments for repairing or replacing damaged tissues and treating degenerative diseases.

Apart from the MRC the countries and agencies involved were the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; the U.S. National Institutes of Health; National University of Singapore; National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia; Academy of Finland; Scientific Council for Medicine of the Swedish Research Council; Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities; and the U.S. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The nine aim to share resources and data, fully capitalize on the existing human stem cell lines and identify any gaps in their overall research programs.

As a result, two expert group are to be set up, one to look at the requirements of stem cell research, including stem cell line characterization, and the second to encourage discussion of the ethical issues around stem cell research in each country. In addition, the meeting discussed the shortage of researchers who are trained to work in this area, and a website will be set up to publicize training events.

The agencies agreed to meet again in six months to review progress.