by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright December 25, 2005
All Rights Reserved.

iving the scientific community a black eye, pioneering South Korean stem cell researcher Hwang Woo Suk resigned from Seoul National University in disgrace, after a nine-member university panel determined that he fabricated his groundbreaking research. Hwang's 2005 landmark study on producing 11 new “tailored” stem cells proved fraudulent, highlighting, if nothing else, how ambitious scientists must be verified before claiming breakthroughs. Stem cell research had become the darling of Wall Street and biotech industry, creating false hopes for millions of investors and those suffering from debilitating illnesses. Hwang's results “were not simple mistakes,” according to Roe-Jung Hye, head researcher at Seoul National University. “There was intentional fabrication,” dealing a devastating blow to the stem cell industry, placing so much weight on Hwang's study.

      California's 2003 $3 billion stem cell ballot initiative was based heavily on the promise of Hwang's groundbreaking research. Wall Street salivated at launching new stem cell companies, especially in the California market. Promising a new frontier in cutting age medicine, stem cells were hailed as future treatments for a wide variety of currently incurable genetic and neurological disorders, including, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries. It broke the public's heart watching quadriplegic actor Christopher Reeves, himself a victim of a severe spinal cord injury from a horse-jumping incident, deteriorate and finally die. His foundation raised millions for spinal cord injuries, including stem cell research. Uncovering Hwang's fraud dashes the hopes of responsible scientists and patients hoping that science has the answer to currently incurable medical conditions.

      Stem cell research generated inordinate public controversy, especially with evangelical Christians opposed to cloning for therapeutic purposes. Even President George W. Bush got into the fray, opposing federal funding for developing, as Hwang claimed, new stem cell lines. So many medical ethicists joined the stem cell debate, arguing over whether science violated God's laws, putting stem cells in the heart of the right-to-life debate. “Everyone in the field really wished that the paper was right,” said Dr. George Q. Daley, a scientist at Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Cambridge, Mass. “It's just profoundly disturbing that this has occurred. It's really hurtful to the whole scientific community,” raising doubts about the trustworthiness of biotech industry. Recent revelations about how publicly traded drug companies influence medical research at the National Institutes of Health also raise doubts.

      Hwang claimed to have created 11 new stem cell lines from human embryo clones from patients' DNA suffering from genetic diseases and spinal cord injuries. Developing genetically matched stem cells was considered a breakthrough step in creating custom therapeutic stem cells. Hwang's 2005 study claimed to have cloned a dog named “Snuppy,” after Seoul National University puppy: It's now likely the dog was created from a split embryo, like an identical twin. “We are all shocked and depressed by this result,” said prominent Korean gynecologist and patient advocate Chang Kyu, disappointed, like so many others, by news about Hwang's faked research. News of Hwang's fraud disheartened even skeptics, wishing that science holds the answers to incurable diseases and unsolved mysteries. It's difficult to accept cold medical facts against wishful thinking.

      News of Hwang's fraud also rumbled through Wall Street, where analysts were busy in damage control mode, hoping to stop investors from bailing out of stem cell stocks. “My clients share the opinion that the Seoul National University probe committed lacked the objectiveness and neutrality,” said Choi Chui, assistant manager of a securities company in Seoul, crafting a clever excuse to ignore the devastating blow to the stem cell industry. While Hwang and his senior coauthor Gerald Schatten, a biomedical researcher from the University of Pittsburgh, have withdrawn their groundbreaking 2005 study, Wall Street's spin machine must find ways to protect share prices. “This throws all his work into doubt,” said Case Western Reserve University bioethicist Insoo Hyun, who spent the summer in Hwang's laboratory. No matter how you spin it, it's bad news for stem cell advocates.

      Hwang's fraud has far-reaching implications for California's $3 billion stem-cell initiative. Taxpayers shouldn't foot the bill for imaginary science to line the pockets of biomedical entrepreneurs looking to cash-in faked research, driving the state further into the hole. Selling state-guaranteed bonds to fund more stem cell research based on Hwang's faked research seems premature, until legitimate science can prove stem cell research isn't science fiction. “Once a scientist has been exposed as having misled the public and his colleagues, he's going to be under suspicion for everything,” said Hyun, raising real doubts about the entire stem cell industry. Everyone wants to believe in cutting-edge science. But the state can't afford to be duped into more debt to satisfy Wall Street's insatiable appetite for a fast buck. There's too much real need to throw more money down the drain.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

©1999-2005 Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.
(310) 204-8300
All Rights Reserved.