Geron engineered stem cell application so Obama could announce approval

February 17, 2010

When the US Food and Drug Administration agreed to approve the world’s first trial of a therapy based on human embryonic stem cells just over a year ago, the timing of its announcement was intriguing.

The Bush Administration had been highly obstructive of embryonic stem cell research, imposing a ban on most federal funding of such studies, which Barack Obama had pledged to overturn. Then, just days after President Obama’s inauguration, the FDA suddenly decided that the time was right to give Geron Corporation permission to start its patient trials. (Times Online – Eureka Zone)