[Nfbf-l] {Spam?} Stem Cell Research in India: With 12 Million Blind

[Alan Dicey]

Stem Cell Research in India:
Research and development of stem cells holds tremendous promise. Stem cells
are in use in clinical trials to treat diseases as diverse as heart disease,
diabetes, and Parkinson's. They are also being used in the process of drug
discovery and in understanding fundamental cellular developmental processes.

Stem cells that are put under the research lens are of two types, embryonic
and adult. While both of these have their uses, it is for embryonic stem
cells that certain ethical considerations are necessary.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Department of
Biotechnology (DBT) have jointly issued a set of comprehensive guidelines
that are comparable to those in the UK. In this environment of sensible
ethical regulation there is a strong interest in the Indian public research
institutes for the pursuit of stem cell research, both fundamental and
clinical.

The interest is backed by funding from the Department of Biotechnology and
some interest in the private sphere as well.

Fundamental research is being conducted by scientists at several
institutions including Dr Panicker, at the National Center of Biological
Sciences, Dr Rangarajan, at the Indian Institute of Science and Dr Maneesha
Inamdar at JNC to name but a few.

Before the stem cells can be used to treat diseases however, clinical trials
need to be conducted to determine safety, feasibility and effectiveness of
these stem cell transfers. We have several clinical trials running in the
India right now.

Most of these trials are via autologous transfer, or those that use adult
stem cells taken from the patients themselves. This is the safest way to use
stem cells as there is no worry of rejection, an adverse immune reaction
that can potentially be life threatening depending on the condition.
Interestingly, embryonic stem cells are currently only used in fundamental
research and it will be 5-8 years at the very least, before they can be put
to use in clinical trials.

Dr Satish Totey, Director of Stem Cell and Regenerative Institute, Manipal
Hospital is running stem cell trials that started January, 2006 for the
treatment of stroke, spinal cord injury, leg ischemia and myocardial
infarction. Since the start of these trials, many patients have already been
treated for these conditions using bone marrow derived stem cells. His dream
is to make stem cell treatment affordable and effective for diseases where
patients have lost all other hope.

The LV Prasad Eye Institute, in Hyderabad has been very successful in using
stem cells to treat corneal opacity and blindness caused by damage to the
limbus region of the eye. They have already passed the clinical trail stage
and treated over 250 patients with a 70 per cent success rate. For this
procedure, they use limbal stem cells, from the good eye of the patients to
reconstruct damaged regions, including the retina and the cornea. This
institute has achieved the largest success rate for this procedure than any
other research institute in the world.

We certainly have our bright spots when it comes to research and clinical
use of stem cells. However, we also have our limitations that need to be
addressed if India is to be become a powerhouse of stem cell research. We
lack the necessary pool of well trained biomedical manpower to perform the
specialised tissue culture and transplant medicine. While these skills can
be learned, training requires money. While public funding is present, it is
by no means sufficient. Also there are but a few private players willing to
take the financial risks necessary for conducting research and development
of stem cells. If the government were to provide tax and other benefits to
biotech companies and private hospitals pursuing stem cell research, then
that would promote a greater involvement. A focus on stem cell research by
the ICMR and DBT could result in larger funds being allocated to stem cell
research in public institutions.

If the environment is more encouraging India could certainly become one of
the strongest players in stem cell research.

The author has done research in biochemistry and has worked for a
multinational pharmaceutical company
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