Australian group offers open access to new ES cell line

The first of six human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines to be developed by Stem Cell Sciences, Melbourne IVF and the Australian Stem Cell Centre has been produced and will be made available to researchers around the world unfettered by commercial restrictions.

It's a significant difference from other hESC lines available to researchers around the world, which generally are readily available to academic researchers, but come with commercial restraints.

The new cell line, known as hES/MEL-1, is being characterised by scientists at the ASCC led by Assoc Prof Martin Pera, who said it would most likely be ready for distribution early in 2005.

SCS CEO Peter Mountford said the decision to make the cell line available to researchers unencumbered by commercial and IP restrictions was not entirely altruistic -- the company believes researchers need access to the best tools available in order to further research in the field.

"By providing these cell lines, we can fast-track stem cell research by ensuring that scientists in different labs are able to compare research findings arising from the same high quality cell lines," he said.

While the company will not make money from the use of MEL-1 and the five other cell lines to be produced, Mountford said it would establish Melbourne as a key location for embryonic stem cell research.

"SCS and the Australian Stem Cell Centre will know these cell lines better than anyone else, so they will attract research collaborations," he said.

The decision would also help to raise the profile of the company, according to Mountford. Earlier this year SCS relocated its corporate headquarters to Edinburgh, Scotland to be closer to European pharmaceutical markets. It also maintains research facilities in Scotland, Japan and Melbourne in close proximity to lead academic centres of stem cell research including the Institute for Stem Cell Research in Edinburgh, the RIKEN Centre for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, and the Australian Stem Cell Centre in Melbourne.

Along with 12 other members of a consortium, the company was also recently awarded funding from the European Union's Sixth Framework Programme to develop stem cells for use in drug discovery and for therapeutic use.

"We are the largest and most scientifically respected embryonic stem cell company in the world," Mountford said.

Mountford said offers from six US states, as well as from France, to establish further SCS facilities were on the table.

Today the company's new labs at the Monash Science, Technology, Research and Innovation Precinct (STRIP), located next door to the ASCC laboratories as well as the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories led by Prof Alan Trounson, were opened by Victorian Minister for Innovation John Brumby. The Victorian state government provided AUD$450,000 toward the fit-out of the new facility.

The co-location of the three stem cell groups is expected to create a substantial node for research in Melbourne.