January 17, 2001

President-Elect George W. Bush

Bush-Cheney Transition Headquarters

1800 G Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20270

Dear President-Elect Bush:

The undersigned 123 patient, research, and academic institutions, write to express their strong support for federal funding of research using human pluripotent stem cells. Our organizations are committed to working with you to advance this potentially life-saving research.

The discovery of pluripotent stem cells may be the single most important scientific and medical breakthrough in the past decade or more. This work could impact the lives of millions of Americans suffering from many of humanity's most devastating illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease, ALS, heart disease, cancer, spinal cord injury and diabetes. There is hope that pluripotent stem cell research will result in new treatments and cures for many of these diseases and disabilities.

As you know, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently issued Guidelines for Research Involving Human Pluripotent Stem Cells, which enable scientists to conduct stem cell research within the constraints of careful federal oversight and standards. It is likely that funding from the NIH will unleash the full capability of the biomedical research workforce to bring the remarkable potential of human pluripotent stem cells to fruition.

A vocal minority has argued that adult stem cells will be sufficient to pursue treatments or cures for disease. But, the prevailing expert scientific opinion is that it is far too early to know if adult stem cells have the same potential as embryonic stem cells. For diseases that prove not to be treatable with adult stem cells, impeding human pluripotent stem cell research risks unnecessary delay for patients who may die or endure needless suffering while the effectiveness of adult stem cells is evaluated.

We are particularly concerned that those who cite the promise of adult stem cell research do so without full understanding of the limitations and preliminary nature of much of this research. Thus, while some have argued that "adult stem cells" are of equivalent promise to embryonic cells, it is far too early to know if this claim is correct. We do not know now, nor are we likely to know in the near future, whether adult stem cells have the same potential as embryonic stem cells, whether they can be gathered in sufficient quantities to treat disease, or whether they can grow indefinitely as can embryonic stem cells. It is likely to take years to discover whether adult stem cells will be useful for treating many diseases that may be treatable sooner with embryonic stem cells. It is critical that we neither prohibit nor hinder research in any of these areas.

In contrast to work with adult cells, the enormous promise and potential therapeutic value of human embryonic stem cells is based on a substantial body of research generated over the past 20 years with mouse embryonic stem cells. This research and the existing work on human embryonic stem cells strongly suggest that embryonic stem cells are capable of generating many, if not all, of the cell types that make up a human organism, but that these cells by themselves

cannot form an adult organism. Most important, mouse embryonic stem cells have been used in a variety of "proof of therapeutic principle" experiments in several animal models of human disease. For example, these cells appear to be able to produce neural progenitors that can repair spinal cord damage and reconstitute various types of brain cells. If reproducible with human embryonic stem cells, we may be able to treat Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. We may also be able to produce bone marrow cells to treat cancer and other diseases, and pancreatic cells to alleviate diabetes. In fact, we may be on the verge of a new era of medicine, one in which cell therapy could help restore normal function to a variety of affected tissues.

The majority of Americans support federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. A nationwide poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation International found that 74% of those queried favor funding of stem cell research by the NIH. This is born out by strong bipartisan congressional support for this research from all political perspectives. It is also important to note that while private firms are already conducting research on pluripotent stem cells, these firms are limited in number, which limits the pace of discovery.

While we recognize the legitimate issues raised by this research, it is also true that the embryonic stem cells being used in research will be discarded in any case. Under these circumstances, it would be tragic to waste this opportunity to pursue the work that can potentially help millions of people in need. Ethical safeguards developed by the NIH respect both the moral status of the embryo and public sensitivity to this issue, while ensuring that progress in critical medical research continues. Given the great hope that stem cell research provides to those who are suffering or dying from devastating illnesses, we urge you to allow this research to move forward with federal support.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you or your advisors to discuss this critical issue. Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Alliance for Aging Research

The ALS Association

American Academy of Optometry

American Association of Anatomists

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association

American Brain Tumor Association

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)

The American Foundation for AIDS Research

American Gastroenterological Association

The American Infertility Association

American Liver Foundation

American Medical Foundation

American Pediatric Society

The American Physiological Society

American Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

The American Society for Cell Biology

American Society for Microbiology

American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

American Society for Reproductive Medicine

American Society of Hematology

American Society of Human Genetics

Association of American Cancer Institutes

Association of American Medical Colleges

Association of American Universities

Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology

Association of Independent Research Institutes

Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs

Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics

Association of Professors of Medicine

Association of Subspecialty Professors

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

Bay Area Bioscience Center

Biotechnology Industry Organization

Boston University School of Medicine

The Brain Tumor Society

California Institute of Technology

Cancer Care

The Cancer Research Foundation of America

Cancer Treatment Research Foundation

Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation

Cedars-Sinai Health System

Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation

Coalition of Advocates for Research on the Eye (CARE)

Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups

Colorectal Cancer Network

Columbia University

Cooley's Anemia Foundation

Coriell Institute for Medical Research

Council of the Radiation Research Society (RRS)

Duke University

Duke University Medical Center

Emory University

The Endocrine Society

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Friends of the National institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

Genetic Alliance

The Genome Action Coalition (TGAC)

Hope for ALS

International Foundation for Anticancer Drug Discovery (IFADD)

International Longevity Center

International Myeloma Foundation

Interstitial Cystitis Association

Jeffrey Modell Foundation

Jacob's Cure

The Johns Hopkins University

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International

The Kidney Cancer Association

Lankenau Institute for Medical Research

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Lymphoma Research Foundation of America

Medical College of Wisconsin

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

NAPE, Inc.

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

National Brain Tumor Foundation

The National Caucus of Basic Biomedical Science Chairs

National Childhood Cancer Foundation

The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

National Eczema Association for Science and Education (NEASE)

National Eczema Association Board of Directors

National Health Council

National Patient Advocate Foundation

National Pemphigus Foundation

National Spinal Cord Injury Association

National Vitiligo Foundation

Neurofibromatosis, Inc., Mass Bay Area

New York University School of Medicine

Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation

Paralyzed Veterans of America

Parkinson’s Action Network

Patients' Cure

Project A.L.S.

The Protein Society

PXE International

Radiation Research Society (RRS)

Research!America

School of Optometry, University of California Berkeley

Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology

Society for Pediatric Research

Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility

Society for Women's Health Research

Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation

St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center

Sturge-Weber Foundation

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Texas Neurofibromatosis Foundation