The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), the largest professional organization of stem cell researchers from around the world, opposes the new U.S. Health and Human Services policy to eliminate federal funding for fetal tissue research in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intramural research program. This research has long been viewed as good public policy to improve human health and has proceeded with public support.

The ISSCR has submitted comments to China's National Medical Products Administration regarding China's draft regulations for the Management of Clinical Research and Transformation Applications for Somatic Cell Therapy.

The ISSCR welcomes the new policy guidance from Health Canada that clarifies the regulation of autologous cell products in Canada. The new policy guidance aligns Canada’s regulations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2017 Regenerative Medicine Framework and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration’s 2018 Autologous human cell and tissue product regulations.

With the rapid growth of the stem cell field and advances in regenerative medicine, it is critically important that researchers earn and retain the public trust. To that end we must operate under agreed-upon guidelines that ensure ethical activities, transparency, and sound science.

In response to draft regulations in China on gene editing and other potentially risky biomedical technologies, the ISSCR has submitted comments to the the country's National Health Commission Medical and Medical Administration Bureau.

The ISSCR supports research using human-animal chimeras conducted under appropriate review and oversight (ISSCR Guidelines Recommendation 2.1.5) and applauds the new Japanese rules enabling research on chimeric embryos.

Scientists play a critical role in advocating for research that is advancing healthcare and biomedicine. In the February edition of Stem Cell Reports, several ISSCR researchers share their answers to the question 'Why is it important to you to support fetal tissue research?'

In written and oral testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, former ISSCR president Sally Temple describes fetal tissue research as essential in studying and developing therapies for cancer, HIV, Zika, tuberculous, and other devastating diseases.

Reports indicate that scientists in China have used CRISPR-mediated genome editing during in vitro fertilization to modify the genetic material of two embryos that were subsequently implanted into a patient, leading to the birth of two babies. As ISSCR and a number of other organizations have previously stated, the use of nuclear genome editing technologies, such as CRISPR, during fertility treatment is premature and should not be attempted at this time.

In a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the ISSCR commented on proposed industry guidance for "Civil Money Penalties Relating to the ClinicalTrials.gov Data Bank."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to StemGenex of San Diego after an investigation found its cellular therapy does not conform with good manufacturing practice requirements, is being illegally marketed to treat conditions for which it has not been proven safe or effective, and is putting patients at risk.

The ISSCR writes in support of the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) complaint requesting relief from discriminatory airline carriage policies that impede the transportation of animals for biomedical research.

The ISSCR has responded to the European Commission proposal and the European Parliament's amendments for Horizon Europe, the seven-year research and innovation funding program to follow Horizon 2020.

In mid-September, the U.S. Senate debated and passed a spending bill that included an increase in funding for the Department of Health and Human Services but did not include a ban on federal funding for fetal tissue research. ISSCR treasurer Arnold Kriegstein visited Senate and House leaders and staff on Capitol Hill shortly after the vote to voice appreciation for the Senate effort.

The ISSCR is troubled by the HHS decision to “conduct a comprehensive review of all fetal tissue research.” The directive appears to come after intensive lobbying efforts by special interest groups with the goals of delaying or curtailing scientific research that relies on fetal tissue.