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Q: (Initially posted November 29, 2004) FROM STUDENT MEMBER
SALLY K. IN CA
Hi, I am a junior in high school right now and I will be doing
a speech about stem cell research. I will be talking about
the benefits of stem cell research. However, I want to know
if there are any solutions to the expensive cost involved
in the stem cell research. Are there any ways where stem cell
research will be more affordable and not so expensive?
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A: FROM MENTOR KRISTIN TAGHON
IN IL
Hi, Sally,
I asked a friend of mine who is a bio-engineer and owns her
own company as
well as many patents in bio-engineering. This is her response:
While research in the laboratory can be fairly affordable,
the
studies necessary to develop treatments for patients are quite
expensive. These expenses result from needing to go forward
carefully to avoid as much as possible any harm to patients.
So,
many tests are required, first on cells alone, and then with
carefully regulated experiments on animals (the regulations
require
humane treatment, which is expensive), and lastly with human
patients. Because this field is new, many of the experiments
that
are tried won't result in a cure, but will rather teach us
what does
not work. Ultimately, when we know what to do, we can try
to bring
costs down for the patients, but this will take some time.
Just for
comparison, it often requires more than $500 million to develop
just
one new drug, and stem cells are a much newer treatment that
will
initially require even more research (and research dollars).
Right now we need to spend more, to get the cures as quickly
as possible, and then after figuring out what works, the costs
will
likely go down. The costs of research differs from the routine
costs of a
drug or treatment.
Research is expensive, and the more you spend now, the quicker
you will get
the cures -- The costs of drugs and treatments are downstream,
and can be
controlled by insurance corporations and government regulation,
but mostly
are driven by market conditions (they are priced at what the
market will
bear).
An interesting article about stem cell research in the New
Yorker (It looks
like it's October 18th issue. Possibly the Oct 11 issue):
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?041018fa_fact6
Here's another interesting article - less technical and more
about the
value of healthcare technology:
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:DHKzTMLeSAUJ:www.chi.org/policy_forum/2
004/pdf/forumsummary11-12-04.pdf+new+yorker+magazine+stem+cell+&hl=en
I hope this information helps! There is alot more online!
Let us know
what you find out.
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A: FROM MENTOR MINI VARUGHESE
IN MD
Yes. There are companies and labs working to make the culture
and manipulation of StemCell less costly. For example, an
automated machine could sequence for $10/base in 1990. Today
the cost is less than 5 c/base. See below.
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/001802.html
Researchers are trying to find ways to culture stem cells
in simpler less costly media (replace serum). They are also
trying to find more efficient methods to transfect cells with
DNA. Presently the transfection rate is extremely low. A Korean
group has claimed they have raised the transfection rate substantially.
You might search Google for information on both of these.
Biotech reports are the best place to find ground breaking
information on stem cell research.
The link below has relevant information on the future of StemCell
research and how it will impact health care.
http://www.globalchange.com/stemcells2.htm
And here is one more link to get the latest news and updates
on stem cell research:
http://www.malachite-mgmt.org/index.cfm?call=B5365DDC.
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