Forty Nobel Laureates Announce Support For `Therapeutic Cloning'; Rare Public Statement Opposes Brownback Bill

4/10/2002

From: Maggie Goldberg for the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, 202-833-0355 or 973-445-1921

WASHINGTON, April 10 -- Forty American Nobel Laureates, including pioneers in research on cancer and other life-threatening diseases, today released a joint statement strongly supporting nuclear transplantation technology for research and therapeutic purposes (more commonly known as therapeutic cloning.) The statement cites the critical role this research could play in the fight against "the most debilitating diseases known to man," and strongly opposes legislation proposed by Sen. Brownback (R-Kan.) that would ban nuclear transplantation technology.

"Senator Brownback's legislation, if it becomes law, would have a chilling effect on all scientific research in the United States," the Nobel Laureates say.

"We decided to speak out to clear up the confusion that has arisen about this issue. Cloning humans and `therapeutic cloning' (or nuclear transplantation technology) are fundamentally different," said Paul Berg, who won the Nobel Prize in 1980. "The cloning of a human being should be prohibited. Nuclear transplantation technology, on the other hand, is meant to produce stem cells, not babies."

"This impressive statement underlines what advocates for the 100 million Americans with life-threatening diseases have been saying: this really is a matter of life and death," said Michael Manganiello, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research. "Nuclear transplantation technology means hope. The Brownback bill would deny it."

"It's discouraging that there are some who oppose nuclear transplantation technology when it could mean improved approaches for treating spinal cord injury and degenerative conditions including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, which together affect millions of Americans and their families every day." said David Baltimore, Ph.D., president of California Institute of Technology and winner of Nobel Prize in 1975 for physiology.

Added Manganiello, "The Nobel statement comes at a critical time when the Senate is considering a ban on all forms of cloning and we are so grateful that Nobel laureates across the nation have shown their strong support for this critical area of medical research."

EDITOR'S NOTE: The statement will be published tomorrow in a full-page advertisement in Roll Call and is being presented to Senators' offices today. The letter was coordinated by the American Society for Cell Biology. A full copy of the text is below.

--- Two National Academy of Sciences expert committees, as well as noted national and international organizations, have evaluated current scientific and medical information and have concluded that cloning a human being using the method of nuclear transplantation cannot be achieved safely. Such attempts in other mammals often have catastrophic outcomes. Furthermore, virtually nothing is known about the potential safety of such procedures in humans. Consequently, there is widespread and strong agreement that an attempt to clone a human being would constitute unwarranted experimentation on human subjects and should be prohibited by legislation that imposes criminal and civil penalties on those who would implant the product of nuclear transplantation into a woman's uterus.

Unfortunately, some legislation, such as that introduced by Senator Brownback (R-KS) would foreclose the legitimate use of nuclear transplantation technology for research and therapeutic purposes. This would impede progress against some of the most debilitating diseases known to man. For example, it may be possible to use nuclear transplantation technology to produce patient-specific embryonic stem cells that could overcome the rejection normally associated with tissue and organ transplantation. Nuclear transplantation technology might also permit the creation of embryonic stem cells with defined genetic constitution, permitting a new and powerful approach to understanding how inherited predispositions lead to a variety of cancers and neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

A critical element of the Brownback bill would prevent the importation into the United States of medical treatments developed in other parts of the world using nuclear transplantation. It seems unbelievable that the United States Senate would deny advanced medical treatment to hundreds of millions of suffering Americans because of an aversion to a technology that was used in its development.

By declaring scientifically valuable biomedical research illegal, Senator Brownback's legislation, if it becomes law, would have a chilling effect on all scientific research in the United States. Such legal restrictions on scientific investigation would also send a strong signal to the next generation of researchers that unfettered and responsible scientific investigation is not welcome in the United States.

We, the undersigned, urge that legislation to impose criminal and civil sanctions against attempts to create a cloned human being be enacted. We also oppose strongly any legislation that would prohibit or impede the scientifically legitimate, responsible use of nuclear transplantation technology for research and therapeutic purposes. Similarly, any attempt to prohibit the use of therapies in the United States that were developed with the aid of nuclear transplantation technology overseas denies hope for those seeking new therapies for the most debilitating diseases known to man.

Sidney Altman Sterling Professor of Biology Yale University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1989

Kenneth J. Arrow Professor of Economics and Professor of Operations Research, Emeritus Stanford University Nobel Prize in Economics, 1972

Julius Axelrod Scientist Emeritus National Institutes of Health Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1970

David Baltimore President and Professor of Biology California Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1975

Paul Berg Cahill Professor of Cancer Research and Biochemistry, Emeritus Director, Beckman Center for Molecular & Genetic Medicine, Emeritus Stanford University School of Medicine Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1980

J. Michael Bishop University Professor and Chancellor University of California, San Francisco Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1989

Thomas R. Cech Distinguished Professor University of Colorado, Boulder Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1989

Stanley Cohen Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, Emeritus Vanderbilt University Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1986

Elias James Corey Sheldon Emery Research Professor of Chemistry Harvard University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1990

Johann Deisenhofer Virginia and Edward Linthicum Distinguished Chair in Biomolecular Science Regental Professor University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1988

Renato Dulbecco Distinguished Research Professor President Emeritus The Salk Instistute Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1975

Edmond H. Fischer Professor, Emeritus of Biochemistry University of Washington Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1992

Jerome I. Friedman Institute Professor Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Physics, 1990

Walter Gilbert Carl M. Loeb University Professor The Biological Laboratories Harvard University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1980

Alfred G. Gilman Regental Professor and Chairman Raymond and Ellen Willie Distinguished Chair in Molecular Neuropharmacology Director, Alliance for Cellular Signaling Chairman, Department of Pharmacology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1994

Donald A. Glaser Professor of Physics and Neurobiology University of California, Berkeley Nobel Prize in Physics, 1960

Joseph L. Goldstein Regental Professor Department of Molecular Genetics University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1985

Paul Greengard Vincent Astor Professor Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience The Rockefeller University Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2000

Lee Hartwell President and Director Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Professor, Department of Genome Sciences University of Washington School of Medicine Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2001

Dudley Herschbach Baird Professor of Science Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1986

Tim Hunt Principal Scientist Cancer Research UK Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2001

Jerome Karle Chief Scientist Laboratory for the Structure of Matter Naval Research Laboratory Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1985

Arthur Kornberg Emma Pfeiffer Merner Professor Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry Stanford University School of Medicine Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1959

Edwin G. Krebs Professor Emeritus, Senior Investigator Emeritus Department of Pharmacology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute University of Washington School of Medicine Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1992

Leon M. Lederman Pritzker Professor of Science Illinois Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988

Edward B. Lewis Thomas Hunt Morgan Professor of Biology, Emeritus California Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1995

William N. Lipscomb Abbot and James Lawrence Professor, Emeritus Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1976

Ferid Murad Professor and Chairman Department of Integrative Biology, Pharmacology and Physiology University of Texas at Houston Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1998

Marshall Nirenberg Chief, Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute National Institutes of Health Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1968

Sir Paul Nurse Director-General (Science) Cancer Research UK Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2001

Burton Richter Paul Piggot Professor in the Physical Sciences Director, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Emeritus Nobel Prize in Physics, 1976

Richard J. Roberts Research Director New England Biolabs Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1993

Phillip A. Sharp Institute Professor Director, McGovern Institute Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1993

Hamilton O. Smith Senior Director of DNA Resources Celera Genomics Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1978

Robert M. Solow Institute Professor Emeritus Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Economics, 1987

E. Donnall Thomas Professor of Medicine, Emeritus University of Washington Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1990

Harold Varmus President, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Former Director, National Institutes of Health Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1989

James D. Watson President, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Director, National Center for Human Genome Research, NIH, 1989-1992 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1962

Torsten Nils Wiesel The Rockefeller University, President Emeritus Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1981

Robert W. Wilson Senior Scientist Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Nobel Prize in Physics, 1978

------ The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) is comprised of nationally-recognized patient organizations, universities, scientific societies, foundations, and individuals with life-threatening illnesses and disorders, advocating for the advancement of breakthrough research and technologies in regenerative medicine -- including stem cell research and somatic cell nuclear transfer -- in order to cure disease and alleviate suffering.