In this
issue:
Central to this monthís
bulletin are the viewpoints on research and use of embryonic
stem cells. This is followed by news on reproductive cloning.
We then move on to public opinion issues, followed by two articles
dealing with clinical trials. We proceed with News from the EU
Parliament and News from the Commission. We draw your attention
to the latest call for proposals! We close this Bulletin with
short business news items (i.e. on the failure of the Biological
Weapons talks), research news and the agenda.
Stem cell
news
News on reproductive
cloning
Public opinion
and biotechnology
Clinical trials
News from the
EU Parliament
News from the
Commission
Business News
Research News
On the web
Agenda
Stem
cell news
US: no to stem cells,
existing lines to be used
On August 8 2001, President
George W Bush has made public his decision on the federal funding
of embryo stem cell research. Bush said that he would not allow
federal funds for deriving stem cells from embryos or for using
embryo stem cells newly derived in the private sector. But, he
said, he would allow research on a number of stem cell lines
that are already in existence. 60 stem cells lines are currently
in existence, although this figure is doubted by some stem cell
researchers.
For Bush, research on these cell lines is permissible because
'the life-and-death decision has already been made'. He was keen
to avoid 'crossing a fundamental more line by providing taxpayer
funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction
of human embryos'.
The president also announced that he intends to set up a council,
chaired by conservative bioethicist Leon Kass, designed to monitor
stem cell research and recommend appropriate guidelines. In the
meantime, the National Institutes of Health has already started
a registry which will eventually list the existing stem cell
lines that federally funded researchers will be allowed to use.
Source: The New York Times
10/8/2001 'Text: Bush's address on stem cell research'
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/10/politics/10BTEX.html
NIH lists stem cells
available for research
Sixty-four embryonic stem
cell lines have been identified by the US National Institutes
of Health (NIH) as eligible for use in federally funded projects.
Ten research centres and companies around the world hold these
stem cell lines. Only four of these groups are in the US, with
others in Australia, Sweden, Israel and India.
President Bush recently limited federally-funded stem cell research
in the US to cell lines that are already in existence. He claimed
that more than 60 such lines were in existence, a figure that
many scientists challenged. The NIH has assured scientists that
the 64 stem cell lines are 'genetically diverse', therefore providing
enough variety for research.
Scientists in the US are also worried about access to the stem
cell lines, including being able to use those covered by patents.
The NIH said that it has been dealing with this issue and is
'working to help researchers gain access to the cells'. The NIH
is establishing a registry to keep information about the cell
lines, including their location and details about their derivation
and growth progress. A spokesman said the agency is taking applications
for funding and hopes to award the first grants early next
year.
Source: National Institutes
of Health 27/8/2001 'Update on existing human embryonic stem
cells'
http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/082701list.htm
Falling share prices
following Bush announcement
American newspapers have
reported a fall in biotech share prices, following President
Bush's decision to limit embryo stem cell research to existing
cell lines. Despite reassurances from stem cell company executives
that the field has a promising future, investors were unable
to share the optimism.
Source: LA Times 11/8/2001
'Biotechs fall on stem cell news'
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-000065085aug11.story
US scientists create
embryos specifically for stem cells:
Scientists from the Eastern
Virginia Medical School in the US have reported
that they have been creating embryos from donated eggs and sperm
for the sole purpose of obtaining stem cells. The research, which
was privately funded, began in 1997 and ended last July. Embryonic
stem cells had previously only been derived from embryos 'left
over' from fertility treatments. In this case, men and women
were asked to donate sperm and eggs purely for stem cell research.
162 eggs were extracted from 12 women and fertilised with donor
sperm from two men. Fifty developed into embryos, and stem cells
were extracted from 40 of these. Three stem cell lines have been
isolated and maintained in culture.
The donors were asked to sign detailed documents signalling their
informed consent, and before the study was started the procedure
was checked with ethicists, the church, and lawyers. Sean Tipton,
a spokesman for the ASRM said that they were impressed with the
high consideration paid to the ethics of the research. He said
'at one level, it's cleaner (ethically) than using leftover embryos,
there's no question as to what you're going to do with these
embryos. You're going to the individuals upfront.' But the scientists
have been criticised by those who believe creating embryos for
destructive research is wrong.
Meanwhile, it has been announced by US company Advanced Cell
Technology Inc. that they are attempting to use cloned embryos
to obtain stem cells, a technique currently under legal consideration
by the Bush administration.
Source: The New York Times
11/7/2001 'Scientists create scores of embryos to harvest stem
cells'
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/11/health/genetics/11CELL.html
News
on reproductive cloning
Human cloning dangerous
Dr Guido de Wert, a research
fellow in Biomedical Ethics from the University of Maastricht,
recently told at a conference that he believed that the potential
serious health risks that could occur in cloned humans mean that
reproductive cloning should be unacceptable at the present.
De Wert did say that there may be reasons to allow reproductive
cloning in the future, but that there were currently too many
health risks and side-effects linked to cloning, as has been
shown in animal models. He said 'as animal research shows, current
methods of cloning result in high numbers of miscarriages and
higher perinatal mortality and morbidity rates. Many animal clones
die in the womb or develop serious deformities including diabetes,
bad kidneys and enlarged tongues'. He added that even clones
that appear normal may be 'ticking time bombs'.
If the current risks were ever to be eliminated, de Wert believes
that the use of reproductive cloning might be justified in some
cases. He said that it might be 'used, in principle, to treat
some types of infertility, for instance, when a man is unable
to produce any germ cells in his sperm'. But he did qualify this
by pressing the need for informed public and scientific debate
on the ethics of the technique before any definite conclusions
were made.
Meanwhile, Professor Ian Wilmut, one of the scientists who cloned
Dolly the sheep, has argued for a moratorium on human reproductive
cloning. His comments come after a study showed that cloned mice
carries a 'high burden' of genetic abnormalities, although they
appeared outwardly normal.
Source: BBC News Online
6/7/2001 'Warning over dangers of cloning' - BBC News Online:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1424000/1424267.stm
Cloning humans may
be easier than you think
Scientists from the US Duke
University Medical Centre in Durham, North Carolina, have discovered
that it may be easier to clone a human than it is to clone sheep,
mice or other mammals. The researchers, who published their findings
in the journal Human
Molecular Genetics, say that humans and other primates each have
two working copies of a gene called insulin-like growth factor
II receptor (IGF2R).
One copy of the gene is passed from each parent to its offspring.
It is thought that other mammals, such as sheep, pigs, cows and
mice, only ever receive one functioning copy of the gene because
of a process called genomic imprinting.
Having two functioning copies of the IGF2R gene is thought to
help prevent fetal enlargement and susceptibility to cancer and
other disorders common to cloned mammalian offspring.
Source: ScienceDaily 15/8/2001
'Humans may be easier to clone than sheep and mice because of
a single genetic difference'
http://www.sciencedaily.com/print/2001/08/010815080314.htm
France and Germany
urge international cloning ban
The United Nations (UN) has
come under pressure to ban reproductive cloning, after the French
and German governments wrote to secretary general, Kofi Annan.
The two countries have also circulated a draft resolution proposing
a committee to draft the ban. The UN general assembly is due
to meet in
Source: The Guardian 10/8/2001
'France and Germany seek UN ban on cloning of humans'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4236853,00.html
Congress favours ban
on cloning, also for research
On July 31 last, the US Congress
voted on a bill regarding cloning of human embryos. With 265
in favour and 162 votes against Congress adopted a proposal to
prohibit cloning in all cases. This includes the cloning of embryos
for scientific research. Neither will it be allowed to import
cloned embryos or products derived thereof. The next step is
voting in the Senate.
References:
http://www.progress.org.uk/news/
http://eos13.cit.nih.gov/news/stemcell/scireport.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/07/18/Bash.debrief.focus/index.html
Public
opinion and biotechnology
The Dutch on xenotransplantation
In the Netherlands there
has been a public debate on xenotransplantation.
48% of the population thinks that xenotransplantation may be
effective to solve donor organ shortages. However, they think
that the receiving patient must have a reasonable quality of
life.
65% of the population thinks that the government should cease
support for research into xenotransplantion.
See also: www.xenotransplantatie.nl
More ethics in science
education
A report commissioned by
the UK's largest medical research charity, the Wellcome Trust,
says that science teaching in schools and colleges is failing
children as it contains no ethical or moral content. The report
says that issues raised by contemporary science need more and
more to be considered to equip children with the skills needed.
Scientific advances such as the sequencing of the human genome,
cloning and stem cell research raise many ethical issues, and
cannot be taught in a vacuum, the report says.
The Institute of Education, which compiled the report, surveyed
teachers from 305 institutions across England and Wales. Sixty
per cent of the teachers in those schools or colleges felt that
too little attention was paid to ethical or moral issues in science.
Dr Mike Dexter, Director
of the Wellcome Trust, said 'today's young people will be the
first to benefit from developments such as the Human Genome Project,
but they will also be the first to face the challenging social
and ethical questions arising from these advances'. Because of
this, he said, the way science is taught in schools should be
'shaken up'.
Source: BBC News Online
16/7/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/education/newsid_1440000/1440993.stm
Wellcome Trust news 16/7/2001:
http://wwwwellcome.ac.uk/en/1/awtprerel0701n234.html
Clinical
trials
Clinical trial data on
the internet
The traditional method of
recording clinical trial data into a paper Case Report Form (CRF)
followed by double key data entry into a sponsor database is
rapidly being replaced by electronic CRFs that can be accessed
directly by the investigator and sponsor company via the public
Internet.
This method of electronically
capturing clinical trial data is generally referred to as Electronic
Data Capture (EDC) and despite reluctance by Pharma companies
to initially accept the technology, EDC is increasingly being
seen to deliver on its many promises.
The impact of this new technology
on the clinical investigator will be substantial and will require
changes in the working practices and approach of all clinical
research personnel.
Requirements for success
The ideal electronic CRF
should be:
simple to use and to navigate through;
feature automated edit checks that will be designed into the
eCRF to avoid input of erroneous data;
be intelligent and be aware of data that has already been entered
previously and issue edit checks based on this data. The
investigator should be led through the eCRF so they should not
see questions (for instance) relating to pregnancy if a male
patient has been entered;
The system should allow off-line data input;
the system should allow internet-based web training how to use
the system;
A survey carried out by DATATRAK of clinical investigators following
use of their EDC system found a 95% satisfaction rate, which
should give reassurance to Pharma company sponsors who remain
concerned at how investigators are accepting this new technology.
Indeed many investigators indicate that paper CRFs will soon
be a thing of the past!
Source: Based on an article
by Michael Tinkler which appeared in Vision in Business Ltd,
Pharma Features Newsletter
August 2001 - Issue 5. The author can be contacted at DATATRAK
Deutschland GmbH, Tel: +49 228 9798330, Fax: +49 228 979 8334
The Impact of the
EU Clinical Trial Directive
Recently the EU published
the new Clinical Trial Directive. While the guidance notes on
the directive have not yet been drawn up, many areas warrant
discussion. Of particular interest are the following issues:
* trial in healthy volunteers,
now covered under the directive but not previously identified
under the Helsinki Declaration or ICH guidelines. There are concerns
over these studies being carried out in non-medical departments
such as psychology. The understanding is that these studies will
also now have to go through an official MREC/LREC approval system
and as there are few statistics on the number of healthy volunteers
studies currently being carried out this could be an enormous
task.
* clinical trial insurance and the need for a harmonisation procedure
through all the member states to protect patients in the event
of a trial related injury;
* the definition of labelling for confidentiality, as some ethics
committees in different member states will not accept initials
and a date of birth as a method of coding and require further
blinding.
New items now covered in the directive are paediatrictrials,
obtaining consent from legal representation and applying for
ethical approval. Timelines for notification may now need to
be increased in the early stages.
The member states will be
meeting in September to discuss their timelines for producing
guidance notes and implementation. An update on the implementation
of the Directive will take place in January 2002. For more information
on this conference, or to nominate yourself as a speaker please
contact Dr MichËle Crisp on HYPERLINK "mailto:michele.crisp@visioninbusiness.com"
michele.crisp@visioninbusiness.com
Source: Vision in Business
Ltd., Pharma Features Newsletter August 2001 - Issue 5
News
from the EU Parliament
Parliament President calls
for universal prudence in biotechnology
Speaking at an international
congress on global health equity: medical progress and quality
of life in the 21st century, Presidentof the European Parliament
Nicole Fontaine called for an ethical dimension to biotechnology.
Ms Fontaine conceded that
the prohibition of certain types of research, particularly in
genetics, could delay the discovery of certain more effective
treatments and create a technological and economic divide between
Europe and other developed regions, which may impose less stringent
conditions.
'However, we [the European
Parliament] believe that universal prudence is essential because
what is at stake is the future ofhumankind in this new century,'
she added. 'The international scientific community, whatever
the ethical view to which the majority of its members subscribe,
cannot be answerable for the deviations of 'sorcerer's apprentices',
which we are now seeing on a worrying scale.'
The Parliament President
expressed her hope that, 'beyond the European Union, the international
scientific community will bring its full weight to bear to ensure
that this moral conscience extends throughout the world.'
Criticising European
research
Ms Fontaine also criticised
European research for its fragmentation, and called for more
cooperation. 'Research and development are less effective than
they might be, particularly in areas where Europe, because of
its level of development and facilities, could play a more pioneering
role in leading edge sectors: genomics, artificial organs, bioinformatics,
tissue organ repair using stem cells, immunotherapy, telemedicine,
gene therapy and so on,' said Ms Fontaine.
EU research is less effective
than it could be as it is 'still over compartmentalised because
the idea of national frontiers is still rooted in attitudes and
behaviour,' Ms Fontaine said.
Source: European Parliament. Based on a speech by Nicole Fontaine,
2001-07-17
News
from the Commission
Patenting Helpdesk temporarily
off the air
On August 31, 2001, the current
IPR-Helpdesk pilot project has ended. All services will be suspended.
The website
www.ipr-helpdesk.org is likely
to go off the air for a short period, but is expected to be back
online thereafter.
All other services, including
the Legal Helpline ( mailto: info@ipr-helpdesk.org
) and newsletter services (IP-News & IP-Wire), will be suspended
for a few months due to contractual negotiations which are currently
underway for the continuation of the IPR-Helpdesk service.
For further information please contact: Alexander.Weir@ipr-helpdesk.org
before Friday, 31st of August
2001.
Thank you for your patience
and continued support.
EMBO conference on
genomes
"From Genomes to Cures",
is a multidisciplinary Science & Society conference jointly
organised by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO)
and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
It examines in scientific and societal terms the impact of genomics
research on the treatment and cure of human diseases, and represents
a platform for dialogue and discussion between the stakeholders
involved.
For registration and a continually updated version of the programme,
please visit: http://www.embo.org/SS_2001.htm
New Call for Proposals
Call for Research Proposals
in line 3.1 "Improving the diagnostic and therapeutic arsenal
for health care". Deadline 11 December 2001
The area in line 3.1. is
exclusively open for "Demonstration" projects (no RTD
and no Combined RTD & Demonstration projects). Aspects for
consideration include: new diagnostic tests and procedures aimed
at detecting early markers and weak signals in pathology, including
near-patient diagnostic tests notably based on nucleic acids,
and tests to ensure the safety of biological fluids. Quality
control and safety aspects of nucleic acid based diagnostic tests
will also be addressed.
A subheading is line 3.1.3
Therapeutic strategies. Aspects for consideration include: Development
of nucleic acid and cell therapies, cell and tissue engineering
and target specific delivery systems. Development of cell lines
for cell mediated gene therapy and of biological substitutes
that restore, maintain or improve tissue and organ functions.
Where proposals include clinical
trials (phase I and II), they will be supported only through
"Demonstration" projects. Clinical trial networks (phase
III and IV) will be supported only through "Concerted actions"
or "Thematic networks".
For the two areas, the deadline
is 11 DECEMBER 2001 (with no grace
for time in the post). A Corrigendum concerning the closing date
was
published in the Official Journal on 1 June 2001.
There is also the possibility
to submit proposals for Accompanying
Measures. These might take the form of:
* Studies
* Consensus-forming initiatives
* Public understanding/communication
* Technology transfer
* Training
* Information exchange
Deadlines for Accompanying Measures are 11/10/2001 and 08/02/2002
(The June 2002 deadline is likely to be cancelled).
Specific information on accompanying measures is given in Annex
1 of the Work Programme 2001
The web page address for the Accompanying Measures call text
(please note that there are 7 corrigenda) is :http://www.cordis.lu/life/calls/199902.htm
Full documentation can be
found on:
http://www.cordis.lu/life/
If you need any further information
on any other point, please contact the following Commission officers:
Bernd Rainer, Tel: +32 2 296 66 52 Fax: +32 2 299 18 60
E-mail: bernd.rainer@cec.eu.int
Beatrice Lucaroni
Tel: +32 2 296 22 29 Fax: +32 2 299 18 60
E-mail: beatrice.lucaroni@cec.eu.int
Liliana Galetescu
Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 299 87 78 Fax: +32 2 299 18 60
E-mail: liliana.galetescu@cec.eu.int
Luis Minguez
Tel: +32 2 295 00 79 Fax: +32 2 299 18 60
E-mail: luis.minguez@cec.eu.int
EU GMO moratorium to
be lifted in 2002
In July 24th, the European
Commission adopted an important legislative package on labeling
and tracing GMOs to enable consumer freedom of choice and ensure
environmental safety. This new regulatory package is regarded
as responding to the concerns of the general public and providing
a robust, effective and transparent system that will contribute
towards the lifting of the de facto moratorium on the commercial
release of GMOs.
Traceability
The new Regulations include traceability requirements for products
from farm to plate that contain or are derived from GMOs. Information
must be transmitted and recorded at each step of the commercial
chain. This information must be retained for 5 years. It is thought
that this tracking system will reduce the need for sampling and
testing of products as well as, the ability to pinpoint any unexpected
adverse health and/or environmental effects.
Labeling
The new Regulations will label, for the first time, all GM feed
and all foods from GMOs regardless of the presence of GM protein
or DNA in the final product (e.g. Canola oil). The accidental
presence of GM materials in feed and food up to 1% will be exempted
from the labeling obligation.
Adventitious presence
The EC acknowledged that in the production of food, feed and
seed, it is practically impossible to achieve products that are
100% pure, regardless of GM or conventional practice. The legislation
"sets up specific conditions under which technically unavoidable
presence of unauthorized GMOs could be permitted." This
is a major step toward opening International Trade.
Approvals
The new rules would adopt a "one door one key" procedure
for scientific assessment and approval where a client would only
have to file a single application. The scientific assessment
(environmental, human and animal health safety) will be carried
out by the European Food Authority. Its opinion will be available
to the public for comments, then, based on this public consultation,
the EC will draft a justification for granting or refusing approval
through a qualified majority of Member States. Approved products
will be posted into a public register and granted for a 10-year
period. Existing GMOs will also be entered into the public register
with a 10-year timeline based on when the product was first approved.
The Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) will have the new
task of validating sampling and detection methods. Finally, joint
approval for feed and food is in, and substantial equivalence
is out!
Source:
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/01/1095|0|RAPID&lg=EN
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/biotech/biotech08_en.pdf
Business
News
No agreement on protocol
to Biological Weapons Convention
Negotiators failed to clinch
an elusive
agreement on the protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention
after four weeks of talks. Hopes of a deal to carry out on-site
inspections of military and biotech sites were dashed when the
Bush administration announced on July 25 that the current draft
was 'unfixable.' But the committee of 56 countries, including
the United States, agreed to keep alive the negotiating mandate
established in 1994. The next talks are scheduled from Nov. 19
to Dec. 7 in Geneva.
Source:
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/08/19/national/GERM19.htm
More information can be requested
from CEFIC:
Cefic (European Chemical Industry Council) Tel 0032 2 676 72
10 - Fax 0032 2 676 73 80.
e-mail: ama@cefic.be"
ama@cefic.be
The Law and DNA
About 150 laboratories carry
out genetic tests in Europe. But to the absence of a single analysis
protocol, they do not all examine the same parts of the genome
to obtain a genetic fingerprint. It is generally the microsatellites
- repetitions of mini-sequences of base pairs of different sizes
- that are studied to draw up a biological identity card, or
other kinds of identifying markers, such as genetic polymorphisms.
The large number of potential markers does not make standardisation
any easier.
In 1997, nearly 20 partners from 17 countries joined the Stadnap
(Standardisation of DNA profiling) project with the aim of standardising
the identification methods.
New genetic markers - such
as DNA chips - and new methods of analysis are constantly being
developed, making continuous standardisation essential. European
cooperation is all the more necessary as individual countries
are compiling their own national records of genetic fingerprints
which could form the core of a joint databank. Source: RTD info
nr 30, 2001
For more information, see:
http://www.stadnap.uni-mainz.de
Compilation of population
studies published by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), USA
http://www.cstl.nist.gov/div831/strbase/
The Distribution of the Human
DNA-PCR Polymorphisms
http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de
The International Society
for Forensic Genetics (ISFG)
http://www.isfg.org
Y-STR Haplotype Reference
Database
http://www.Ystr.charite.de
Unhappy
with health care
Dissatisfaction with health
services prevails in Portugal where 73% of people find their
health care inadequate. The Greeks and Italians follow, with
65 and 50% being dissatisfied, respectively.
New figures have highlighted that European health services will
be further challenged in the coming decade as the proportion
of people over 60 increases and lifestyle changes are exerting
negative health effects. In particular, the number of overweight
men and women is on the increase. Circulatory diseases and cancer
remain Europeís biggest killers accounting for 40 and
30% of all deaths, respectively.
Source: Key data on health
2000. Data 1985-1995. ISBN 92-894-0510-4. Internet: http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/
Research
news
Stem cells from skin
Scientists from Canada's
McGill University in Montreal have reported that it may become
possible for human skin cells to transform into other types of
tissue cells, such as muscle, nerve or fat. The researchers think
that stem cells isolated from the lowest levels of skin may eventually
be harvested in enough quantities to allow a patient to be treated
with his or her own cells.
The Canadian team has managed to isolate stem cells from the
skin of adult mice and to proliferate them in a laboratory. The
stem cells were then developed into neural cells of the type
that could potentially be used to treat spinal cord injury or
diseases like Parkinson's. Studies on humans have indicated that
similar types of cell can be found in human skin.
Source: Science Daily
14/8/2001 'Study identifies new source of stem cells'
http://www.sciencedaily.com/print/2001/08/010814063557.htm"
Genes and early embryo
development
Scientists from the University
of North Carolina, US, have discovered a gene that is linked
to whether female embryos survive or not. The gene, called eed,
is thought to keep the X chromosome that is inherited from the
father (females have two X chromosomes) inactive during early
embryo development. The gene also keeps many of the other genes
on this chromosome switched off during the first stages of development
of the placenta.
The scientists, who carried out the research on mouse embryos,
have found that female embryos that do not have a working eed
gene do not survive because the placenta does not develop properly.
They also believe that a functioning eed gene causes cells in
the embryo to organise themselves correctly, and that if the
gene does not function properly, many problems, such as the development
of leukaemia, skeletal abnormalities or other birth defects,
can occur.
Source: BBC News Online
22/7/2001 'Clues to embryo development'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1447000/1447429.stm
On
the web
ESACT web discussion board
In order to improve even
more communication and dialogue between its members, ESACT has
added a discussion board to its website. This forum is intended
to share knowledge and views, see assistance for any problem
and promote the exchange of ideas in the field of cell technology,
covering aspects from basic technical pproblems to ethical or
political issues. Visit:
http://www.esact.org/board.html
Secure part ESACT
website
The ESACT website now also
features a private/restricted space that will be filled with
information that might not interest the rest of the world. One
can reach it by typing the address HYPERLINK http://www.esact.org/private
http://www.esact.org/private and typing in the username and the
password. The latter are available from the ACTIP Secretariat
upon request.
GENAU! "Science in the
pub" (http://www.embo.org/Genau.html)
Fellows Network ( http://www.embo.org/Fellnet.html
)
AGENDA
A number of interesting conferences
and workshops is coming up. Of all the events mentioned here,
the detailed programmes and registration/application forms are
available from the ACTIP secretariat.
Conference "
Stem Cells: Therapies for the Future ? " in Brussels, on
18-19 December 2001
This " Life Sciences
Discussion Platform " aims at fostering a pluralistic and
reciprocally informative debate between science and society on
novel concepts of therapies - based on the use of stem cells
- with promising potentials for the medicine of the future and
with important societal and ethical implications.
Expected participants Scientists, experts in the ethical implications
of biotechnology, specialists in human sciences and law, associations
of patients, interest groups, students and teachers, educators
and media, the medical profession and various representatives
of public authorities
Date: December 18 and 19,
2001
Place: Charlemagne Building, Brussels, Belgium
Central contact: Elisabetta.Balzi@cec.eu.int
Web: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/quality-of-life/stemcells.html
ACTIP annual plenary
meeting
September 20-21, York, UK
Organization: ACTIP Secretariat:
www.ACTIP.org
15th Forum for Applied
Biotechnology
Sept 24-25, 2001, Gent, Belgium
Organization: GOM-West-Vlaanderen;
tel + 32 50 36 71 31; fax; + 32 50 36 31 86
Cell Interactions
and Cellular Complexity
Sept 30-October 3, 2001,
Granada, Spain
Organization: European Tissue
Culture Society.
web: http://www.san.gva.es/centros/lafe/ETCS/ETCS_ESP-granada-2001-00.html
Epidos/Patinnova
October 15-18, 2001, Cardiff,
UK
Organization: European Patent
Office/European Commission
Tel + 33 143 67 79n 79; fax: + 33 143 67 87 00. Email: patinnova@teamwork.fr
Vaccines of the future:
from rational design to clinical development
October 17-19, 2001, Paris
France
Organization: Institut Pasteur Euroconferences. Fax: + 33 1 40
61 34 05. www.pasteur.fr/applications/euroconf
Genome 2001-05-02
22-24 October 2001, London
Organization: ECPI. Fax:
+ 44 20 7242 1508
Second European Meeting
on Cell Engineering
October 26-28, 2001, Costa
Brava, Spain
Organization: Dr. Mohammed Al-Rubai, Dr. David lLoyd: email:
D.R.Lloyd@bham.ac.uk ; http://www.bham.ac.uk/ChemEng/actg/ewce2.htm
9th meeting of the
European Society of Gene Therapy
November 2-4, 2001, Antalya,
Turkey
Organization: Congrex Sweden
AB, email esgt@congrex.se, or the congress manager, email: binanc@serenas.com.tr
New developments of
the procedure of certification of suitability of the European
Pharmacopoeia
November 8-9, 2001, Vouliagmeni,
Greece
Organization: EDQM, http://www.pheur.org
From Genomes to Cures
November 16 - 18 November,
2001, EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany
Organization: EMBL; http://www.embo.org/SS_2001.html
More information from: alessandra.bendiscioli@embo.org
Pharmaceutical products
and viral safety
March 14-15, 2002, Paris
France
Organization: Institut Pasteur Euroconferences. Fax: + 33 1 40
61 34 05. www.pasteur.fr/applications/euroconf
ACTIP Bulletin nr 27, September 2001
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