Singapore could allow therapeutic cloning for stem cell research

A Singapore government ethics committee has recommended in favour of therapeutic cloning in a move that could prove to be a research boon for private Australian company ES Cell International (ESI).

If adopted, the guidelines would give Singapore some of the most liberal stem-cell research laws in the world and would be a major step towards the nation's plans of becoming an international biomedical research hub.

ESI has dedicated research facilities in Singapore and this year recruited Dolly the sheep scientist Dr Alan Colman to direct its work in that country.

Chief executive officer Robert Klupacs said the company looked forward to establishing a significant in-house research undertaking in Singapore under Colman's direction.

"The regulatory guidelines ensure that ES Cell International is able to continue to develop stem cell technologies in Singapore," Klupacs said.

On June 21, a government-appointed ethics committee recommended that scientists in Singapore could withdraw stem cells from adult human tissues, aborted foetuses and surplus embryos from fertility treatment as long as the embryos were less than 14 days old.

The committee also said that scientists should be allowed to obtain stem cells from existing cell lines and through the use of therapeutic cloning technology to create human embryos for research on a case-by-case basis.

ESI, which was incorporated in Singapore and has a government subsidiary as one of its main investors, is one of the few companies worldwide that is eligible to supply stem cells lines to the US National Institutes of Health.

Klupacs said the ethics committee's recommendations provided a "clear and sensible approach" to the field of stem cell work.

"The recommendations achieve a balance between the potential of stem cell research, and the need to prevent scientists from undertaking unnecessary research," he said.

He said Singapore had a track record of successfully capturing and capitalising on ideas.

"For Singapore to become a biotech leader it needs to focus on a discrete number of major biotech projects, such as stem cell research, and support them in reaching a scale to compete globally," Klupacs said.