Stem cell news from LA

October 17, 2002

Hello Family,

I was shocked when I read the Advocate this morning. Louisiana taking a lead in something,,,,,,Nah.

Read the attached news article about Louisiana Charity Hospitals.

God Bless,

Judy & Jim Stark

Pact to have La. hospitals save placenta stem cells Women giving birth at Baton Rouge's Earl K. Long Medical Center and other LSU charity hospitals soon could be donating placentas for disease-fighting stem-cell research technology.

LSU Health Services Division has signed a contract with Anthrogenesis Corp., a New Jersey company pioneering technology to recover large quantities of stem cells from placentas after a birth.

The LSU hospitals are the first to participate in the company's new Louisiana Stem Cell Repository. Anthrogenesis hopes to expand into other hospitals that deliver a lot of babies.

Initially, Earl K. Long and the Medical Center of Louisiana in New Orleans will be involved in the voluntary donation of placentas.

"This is a way of joining forces to try to get more of a biomedical presence in the state of Louisiana in a cutting-edge way," said Dr. , chief medical officer of the LSU hospital system.

said the contract is "very much in the preliminary stage of implementation," but he is excited about the possibilities.

The technology "extends the miracle of birth and makes it a miracle of life," said U.S. Rep. Baker, who played the lead role in bringing the company to the state.

"We are beyond research with a product that can be used in the medical field," Baker said.

Baker said there is no ethical dilemma involving abortion with this type of stem-cell research because it uses placentas after live births, not abortions.

The placenta connects the umbilical cord of an unborn child with the wall of the mother's uterus. It allows nutrients to pass from mother to baby.

Placentas are routinely discarded after a birth.

"The type of research we are doing is favorable with the president and the Vatican because it does not involve fetuses," said Pam Shaver, managing director for the company's subsidiary, Louisiana Stem Cell Repository.

Anthrogenesis has a patent pending on technology for extracting stem cells from placentas.

Stem cells are used in lab research and experimental treatments for a variety of diseases.

They have the potential of being turned into other types of cells such as nerve, liver and heart, which opens the potential for fighting disease.

Anthrogenesis is involved in treatment for diseases such as sickle-cell anemia, Lou Gehrig's disease, lupus and other blood disorders, and cancer, according to information provided by the company.

The company also said it is supplying materials to several drug makers and health-care companies in the creation of treatment materials.

The biotechnology company's repository arm is one of the newest tenants of the Louisiana Technology Park on Florida Boulevard.

Discussions are under way about the lease of additional space to serve as a primary stem-cell process and storage center in Louisiana.

Shaver said Anthrogenesis has been doing the work on a limited basis in the New Jersey area but was looking to expand.

The Louisiana repository will be its first spinoff, and the LSU hospitals will be the "anchor" for the repository development.

LSU hospital systems Chief Executive Officer Brexler refused to release the contract or discuss its financial terms.

According to Anthrogenesis, LSU's Earl K. Long Medical Center and the Medical Center of Louisiana in New Orleans will initially participate, with more of its hospitals coming on line in the future.

Patient confidentiality will be maintained and the donation of the placentas strictly voluntary, LSU's said.

Mothers would have to sign informed-consent forms agreeing to the donation as well as medical screening to insure they are healthy.

LSU is supposed to promote "broad-based support for the donation," according to Anthrogenesis.

Donation is stressed in the charity hospital contract but Anthrogenesis also has a program that allows an individual to reserve stem cells for family use.

The company and LSU said the agreement also provides for extending the relationship between Anthrogenesis' Louisiana Stem Cell Repository and the LSU Health Sciences Center to include collaboration in stem-cell and disease management research.

The decision by Anthrogenesis to establish the Louisiana Stem Cell Repository here came after more than a year of work begun by Baker.

As debate about using stem cells of human embryos raged in Washington, D.C., Baker said he noticed a news report about the technology Anthrogenesis had developed.

Baker said he was impressed that it did not involve embryonic stem cells, and he started investigating the company and its alternative method for the collection of stem cells.

Baker said he talked to company officials and did "due diligence" to see if the company's research was legitimate. Then he tried to get the company interested in Louisiana.

Baker, Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Jimmy Lyles and Eddie Ashworth, president of the Louisiana Technology Park, began working with Anthrogenesis in fall 2001.

Developmental operations began here last summer.

The repository will add a medical director to its staff to oversee the science and medical aspects of the repository. The company also expects to hire 10 more employees within the next three years as the service expands.

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October 17, 2002