UK Wins Bio-IT World's 2005 Award for Stem Cell Innovation

UKTI, 5 July 2005

UK Trade & Investment, the British Government's international business development agency, accepted the Bio-IT World's 2005 Best Practices Award at the Bio-IT World Awards dinner in Washington DC. The UK received the award in the category of “Knowledge Management and Collaboration” for its global model of best practices in stem cell innovation.


UK Wins Bio-IT World's 2005 Best Practices Award for Stem Cell Innovation
UK Global Model Recognized in “Knowledge Management and Collaboration” Category


UK Trade & Investment, the British Government's international business development agency, accepted the Bio-IT World's 2005 Best Practices Award at the Bio-IT World Awards dinner in Washington, DC. The UK received the award in the category of “Knowledge Management and Collaboration” for its global model of best practices in stem cell innovation.

“The future of the entire health sciences arena is essentially being dictated by the advances that are resulting from the model that the UK government has established through its unambiguous, robust and ethical policy on stem cells,” said Dr. Stefan Winkler, vice consul Science and Technology. “By setting the gold standard in stem cell policy, the UK government has set the stage for technological stem cell innovation around the world and is fostering an environment where the future of global biomedicine can thrive.”

Despite current debate over the use of stem cells and its consequent hindrance to progress, the UK government has taken a clear stance and in the past year, implemented a progressive platform that includes dedicated resources, funding and collaboration among academic, government and commercial stakeholders. As a result, the government has created a regulatory framework that fosters an environment of international collaboration and “best in class” research and development programs that are responsible for biomedical breakthroughs across the world today.

In May 2004, the UK government took a prominent global stance through the establishment of a $4.7 million public stem cell bank. Adhering to the highest regulatory and technology standards, the bank provides a global access to ethically approved and quality controlled cell lines for use in the development of clinical applications and basic research.

"The UK Trade & Investment entry for the UK really stood out in the minds of the judging panel," explained Bio-IT World editor-in-chief Kevin Davies. "There is no doubt about the incredible potential of stem cell technology. This award recognizes the great strides being made in the UK to stimulate innovation in this field, and to facilitate global research through the stem cell bank. It may also serve as a wake-up call to other countries that are in danger of falling behind in this critical area."

The UK Trade & Investment's entry was peer-reviewed by a panel of expert judges and selected from among 33 lengthy submissions from organizations ranging from large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to academic institutions, detailing best practices in one of six categories.




britainusa.com

If it can really help people i guess it is ok, I just worry about using this for the wrong reasons, there are so many people who want kids and it is so wrong to have a abortion, i fear they will someday pay women for the rights of those they abort, thus causeing more to be done.

the embryo's used are just a microscopic blob of cells and not a baby.

Ever heard the firemans argument?

If a building were on fire and burning down would you save a stack of 100 microscopic embryo's or a living breathing child from the fire?