FDA Approves Embryonic Stem Cell Trials!!!

By Agence France-Presse for Raw Story
US authorities have approved the first human trials using embryonic stem cells to test a pioneering therapy to help paralyzed patients regain movement, the FDA said Friday.
"The FDA has granted its clearance for a new drug application of Geron Corp for a phase one clinical trial of an embryionic stem cell based therapy in patients with acute spinal cord injury," FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan told AFP.
Earlier, the California-based biotech firm Geron Corp. announced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had been cleared to carry out human trials of a novel therapy called GRNOPC1.
"The clearance enables Geron to move forward with the world's first study of a human embryonic stem cell based therapy in man," Geron said.
The goal is to inject cells into the spines of paralyzed volunteers, between seven to 14 days after they are injured, hoping this will prompt the damaged nerve cells to regrow, enabling them to eventually recover feeling and movement.
"This marks the beginning of what is potentially a new chapter in medical therapeutics -- one that reaches beyond pills to a new level of healing: the restoration of organ and tissue function achieved by the injection of healthy replacement cells," said Geron's president Thomas Okarma.