James Thomson

In anticipation of an increased demand for human embryonic stem (ES) cells by federally funded scientists, who might be allowed to carry out research on these cells for the first time if National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines are implemented in the coming weeks, a branch of the University of Wisconsin, Madison has launched a company to sell these cells to scientists. However, such a service might be redundant if Congress passes a new bill allowing investigators to derive their own stem cells from in vitro-fertilized embryos. The bill was introduced on 31 January by biomedical-friendly senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA). On the same day, the NIH extended its public comment period on the guidelines until 22 February.

James Thomson, the University of Wisconsin developmental biologist in whose laboratory human ES cells were first isolated, is the scientific director of the new business, the WiCell Research Institute. His lab has already received over 100 requests for cells, several of which were from private companies. Thomson's original work was funded by the biotechnology company Geron, but that company does not have a financial stake in WiCell because the patent (US patent number 5,843,780) on the isolation technology is owned by the university's non-profit patent management organization, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).

The NIH guidelines stress that stem cells to be used in research must be obtained through payment that does not exceed “reasonable costs;” in other words, federally funded scientists should not buy cells from suppliers who are making a profit on the exchange. Although WARF is a non-profit group and does not aim to make money from academic researchers, its managing director, Carl Gulbrandsen, explains that WiCell “does not intend to operate at a loss either.” The initial cost to academics will be a one-time fee of $5,000 for the ES material and a paid-up license. “We will be monitoring our costs. Our hope is that the fee will not have to be raised and perhaps can be lowered,” he adds. Privately funded researchers will pay a substantially larger fee and also be liable for a yearly maintenance fee. All investigators must sign a material transfer and license agreement, which enables them to carry out research only. If the researcher intends to develop a commercial product, they must seek a further license from WARF.