Question
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Triesman on 29 October (WA144-5) regarding Medical Research Council expenditure, why a total of £760,000 might now be required to identify potential benefits of somatic cell nuclear transfer, especially in light of Answers provided by Lord Darzi of Denham on 23 October (WA100-1) stating that research licences cannot be authorised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for any activity unless it specifically appears to be necessary or desirable for one or more clinically related purposes.
Answer
The award to the University of Newcastle entitled ““Improving the efficiency of human Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer”” (SCNT) will examine technological improvements with the major aim of improving the efficiency of SCNT. This is an essential prerequisite for realising the potential benefits of this approach. For example, SCNT is considered to hold great promise for the development of patient-specific stem cell therapies, which may overcome the problems of immune rejection that would otherwise prove a barrier to the use of transplanted stem cells. The work is thus desirable for one or more clinically related purposes.