A survey of more than 460 pharmaceutical industry scientists and executives found 72 percent support allowing the cloning of human cells in the context of embryonic stem cell research.
The survey comes as legislation is pending in the U. S. Senate that would expand restrictions on federally funded stem-cell research.
Conducted by IBC Life Sciences of Westborough, Massachusetts, the survey offers a peek into what pharmaceutical leaders think about the national debate over cloning and embryonic stem cells.
"Numerous public opinion polls have been conducted on drug discovery topics, but very few surveys have measured the views of the professionals working in the industry’s labs and boardrooms," wrote IBC’s Marketing Director Ellen Massa in a statement.
In the survey, 468 drug-discovery professionals were asked if they thought the United States should pass legislation allowing the cloning of human cells to make embryonic stem cells for use in research.
Approximately 72 percent said "yes," 13 percent said "no," and 15 percent were undecided. Only 7 percent said stem cells had the highest impact on their company’s research or development, however.
Cloning currently is not banned in the United States, but President George W. Bush has urged Congress to pass legislation making any kind of human cloning illegal. Such bills have been introduced, but they have never passed both the House and Senate.
The controversy over cloning and embryonic stem cells revolves around the fact that current methods of extracting stem cells require the destruction of human embryos. Some groups object to the technique and consider it the same as killing human life.
Embryonic stem cells can give rise to every tissue type in the body, and the scientific consensus is experiments in this field could lead to a better understanding of diseases and their cures.
Dan Eramian, vice president of communications of the Biotechnology Industry Organization in Washington, said the survey results match his perception of industry’s attitude toward cloning and stem-cell research.
"The survey really reflects the culture of the people you have in the biotech industry," Eramian said. "They’re research oriented, and many CEOs are scientists."
Regarding how this survey could impact the debate in Congress, Eramian said it reinforces who believes we should conduct this research, and what the benefits are.
"The majority of Americans feel that way according to the polls I’ve seen, and the majority of people in the House feel that way. You may see similar results in the Senate, but it’s too early to tell."
Last May the House passed a bill that would ease the limits on stem-cell research and allow federal funds to be applied toward research involving surplus embryos from fertilization clinics that are destined to be destroyed.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., recently broke with President Bush and said he supports easing the stem-cell restrictions, but the bill has not been brought for a vote in the Senate, and Bush has said he would veto the legislation if it passes.
© 2005 United Press International.
© 2005 Sci-Tech Today.
