Stem-cell pioneer starts research firm

MADISON, Wis. -- The scientist who first isolated human embryonic stem cells now hopes to profit from the discovery.

Even as the debate unfolds in Washington over federal funding for stem-cell research, Jamie Thomson and two colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have formed Cellular Dynamics International, a company that will test new drugs on heart cells they plan to develop from the undifferentiated master cells.

Heart cells don't survive long or reproduce outside the body so scientists are now limited to testing the effects of experimental drugs on the heart in live animals and people. Heart cells derived from stem cells are thought to be hardier and will allow drug tests on the heart to occur in a petri dish.

None of the handful of companies attempting to turn stem cells into profits has done anything but lose money. Not a single product derived from human embryonic stem cells has been tested on people. Industry leader Geron Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., says it hopes to test an experimental stem-cell therapy to treat spinal cord injuries sometime next year. Geron lost $80 million last year.

Stem cells are created in the first days after conception and go on to form the body's tissues and cells. Researchers hope to use stem cells as replacements for diseased and injured body parts.

Many social conservatives oppose the research because days-old embryos -- usually donated by fertility clinics -- are destroyed. President Bush has severely limited the amount of federal funding stem-cell researchers receive.

Cellular Dynamics will at first develop tests made from kidney cells tweaked to mimic heart cells, a technique invented by company cofounder Craig January. Company officials would not say when they expected to begin working with actual heart cells developed from stem cells.