UK appoints stem cell bank operator:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control has been appointed to set up the UK stem cell bank, the Medical Research Council (MRC) announced today (September 9 2002). The £2.6m ($4m) contract for the project will be managed by the MRC, which will share 75% of the costs with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (25%). The creation of the stem cell bank was one of 27 recommendations of a House of Lords committee set up to assess how best to regulate the technology. Its report was published at the end of February 2002, when the Lords gave qualified support for work in this area to go ahead under current legislation (see Clinica No 998, p 6). The Medical Devices Agency is represented on an MRC committee set up to develop principles and practices regarding the ethical, legal and regulatory issues associated with stem cell banking and research.