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International Stem Cell Bank To Be Established In Korea
The Electronic Times (Korea)
26 May 2005
An international stem cell bank will likely be established in Korea with a global network.
"Many international offers to establish a stem cell bank here have come in since we revealed the customized stem cell research," said Prof. Hwang Woo-suk at Seoul National University.
"Harvard University in the United States and the University of Cambridge in England recently proposed establishing a joint research center in Korea and holding a regular stem cell workshop, and we will examine setting up the world's stem cell bank," said the 52-year-old scientist.
Last week, Hwang's research team announced that they successfully created stem cells that are tailored to match the DNA of patients with specific medical conditions.
If the world's stem cell bank is launched in Korea, it is forecasted that Korea will become a hub by supplying the results of stem cell research to patients worldwide, dominating the global markets for related products and applications.
Hwang's announcement came after a meeting between policymakers and scientists, including Hwang, Vice Minister of Science and Technology Choi Seok-sik and chief presidential advisor for science and technology Pak Ki-yeong.
The government plans to increase the budget geared to support Hwang's stem cell research by 1 billion won (approximately 1 million dollars) to 3 billion won this year. The construction of a new research facility inside Seoul National University will be continued by channeling 24.5 billion won into the project this year.
"We will form a 'dream team' to provide full support for Hawng's work, as lawmakers and patent lawyers pledge funding for his reserach among many others," said presidential advisor Pak. "We also plan to establish a 'support monitoring system' to help apply the results of the priceless breakthrough work."
The government plans to form a taskforce within the state-run Korea Science and Engineering Foundation to support international collaboration and manage intellectual property rights on stem cell research.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would examine guidelines for regulating laboratory tests for therapeutic stem cell research. The government has also decided to better manage property rights to Hwang's work and tighten control on possible leaks.
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