Boosting Singapore’s Stem Cell Research
Date: 30 November 2005
As Singapore focuses on building up its strengths in the area of stem cells, cutting-edge stem cell research is occurring within the industry, research institutes and academia. World-renowned stem cell expert, Dr Alan Colman, is spearheading ES Cell International’s (ESI) R&D projects, aiming to convert its substantial human embryonic stem cell platform into new therapeutic projects. Biomed Singapore found out more about this exciting area from Dr Colman.
Can you tell us more about what you and your team are focusing on at ESI?
ESI is driving the revolutionary use of stem cells to cure major degenerative diseases, with a clear research focus in cardiovascular disease and diabetes. We are working to develop cell therapies in two major categories; firstly, diabetes, specifically looking at the transplantation of insulin-secreting cells into the pancreas of diabetics; and secondly in the area of cardiovascular, where we aim to transplant cardiomyocytes into the heart to restore cardiac function post-myocardial infarction (or heart attack).
Dr Alan Colman
We already have intellectual property (IP) and patent portfolios that show strong scientific achievement and progress towards commercially-viable stem cell derived therapies. We have a strong position in IP surrounding both the growth of neural precursors from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and the growth of cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) by directed differentiation of hESCs. In addition, we have already initiated studies in small and large animal models of cardiovascular disease and the testing of insulin-secreting cells is currently underway in a diabetic mouse model. The company aims to have sufficient preclinical data and regulatory approvals in place to start clinical trials in humans in 2007.
What do you think will be some of the breakthrough discoveries/ applications emerging in the area of stem cell research, in the next 10 years?
Stem cell therapy is expected to emerge as the next major advancement in human healthcare, and at this point, we know that in animal disease models, stem cell technology is showing great promise in a variety of degenerative diseases, including neurological and cardiac disorders. Some of this work has now moved to the clinic with transplanted bone marrow stem cells being implicated in restoration of human heart function following myocardial infarction.
The research we are doing is just the tip of the iceberg. In 20 years we may be able to patch up damaged organs, or provide effective treatments to reverse the damage of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. In order for this to happen we need enough hES lines to work with. That is why ESI is also looking to produce more viable, useful hES lines, hES cells, and specific differentiated cells. I am convinced that stem-cell based technologies can help millions.
In addition to stem cell therapies, we also believe that stem cells may drive future drug discovery, through the development of screens to identify or test new small molecule drug candidates, based on the cell types such as neurons, islets, hepatocytes, cardiomyocytes, haemangioblasts and chondrocytes. In many cases, it has proved difficult to ensure the availability of large enough quantities of these human cell types. We are working with collaborators around the world to investigate this potential application.
Finally, stem cell work will provide basic insight into disease processes and this insight could be translated into the development of drug therapies designed to prevent or mitigate the disease processes.
Stem cell therapies are not new. They have been used in bone marrow transplants for the last 40 years. Why is there relatively recent scientific and public interest occurring now?
This is a difficult question with no definitive answer. I believe that the generation of human embryonic stem cell lines in 1998 had an enormous impact on public and scientist perception alike. The controversial nature of the science, combined with a heightened sensitivity within the scientific and public fraternities prompted by developments in animal cloning, led to both increased scientific interest in the use of embryonic stem cells for cell differentiation. Paradoxically, it also led to frenetic work in the area of adult stem cells, this latter activity elicited to some degree by the desire of some to prove the use of hES cells unnecessary.
You are internationally known for your work in cloning Dolly the Sheep in 1997. How did you feel after this achievement?
While Dolly was a great achievement, I would like to think that my most important scientific accomplishments are yet to come and will be in the development of commercially-viable stem cell-derived therapies for diabetes and heart failure. Dolly was an important proof-of-principle for a project we were conducting to genetically engineer pigs to be suitable donors for human organ transplantation. We subsequently went on to make the pigs. For the basic sciences, Dolly together with related similar work was living dramatic proof that the genetic programmes of the most specialised cell types could be comprehensively rewritten. This insight has stimulated a lot more work into cell fate reprogramming and this work could ultimately filter down into customised cell therapy medicine.
Why did you choose to enter the field of stem cell research? Was there any triggering factor?
The work with Dolly together with the generation of human ES lines in 1998 simply bowled me over and I decided that the development of stem cell therapies was what I wanted to do. I think we have seen in the past few years how much the industry and the public expects from this science. It is exciting for me to be leading the search for this relatively new approach to treating the two of the most common diseases in the world today: cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Why did you decide to move to Singapore?
I realised I wanted to focus on stem cell research, and it was important to me to stay in the commercial area, rather than do the research in an academic setting. I considered starting a small company in the US or UK with venture capital, but it proved very difficult at that time to raise significant funding. In Singapore, I found a very supportive partner with great vision in the Singapore government, and they happily offered both short and medium term support. I knew I was committed to this area of research, and they seemed to be just as interested in supporting the research, seeing the recruitment of senior scientists and the successful development of regenerative therapies, as an appropriate reward for their investment. So it was a great fit for both of us.
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