The decision ends the suit of Sherley v. Sebelius, filed in August of 2009 by two researchers who study adult stem cells who challenged an Executive Order signed by President Barack Obama in the first months of his Presidency. The presidential action created guidelines for the funding of hESC research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The researchers argued that hESC research violates a law that bans federal funds for research that destroys embryos.

As a longtime member of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) Board of Directors and leadership, the Prevent Cancer Foundation has supported efforts to create strict ethical guidelines governing the funding of embryonic stem cell research for more than a decade. We concur with Nobel Laureates and leaders in medical research that regenerative medicine research is central to lifesaving treatment and cures for a multitude of diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and spinal cord injuries. We applauded President Obama, when he issued his guidelines in 2009 expanding the policy regarding embryonic stem cell research and allowed the NIH to use Federal dollars to fund grants under strict ethical guidelines and oversight.

Now that this legal challenge has been dismissed by the high court, we are hopeful that the field will begin to progress further. While there will likely be other challenges in the future, this first court win is a landmark one. Regenerative medicine is moving forward, with the first early stage clinical trials having opened in research on blindness and paralysis. Other trials are on the horizonin both the hESC fields and soon with progress in Induced Pluripotent Stem (ips) cell research.

While the court challenge has been long, the Prevent Cancer Foundation and our advocates have worked tirelessly to ensure that our lawmakers understand the value in medical research and disease prevention. We applaud the ruling and hope that this critical work accelerates medical research for millions of patients.

For more information on this and other issues impacting cancer prevention, please join us by signing up for our Advocacy Action Center at www.preventcancer.org.

Today’s dismissal of this case is a decisive statement in the court battle over the research and guidelines, recognizing the important role that embryonic stem cell research plays in the larger field of biomedical research, and the potential benefit to more than 100 million Americans who suffer from cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries, and other debilitating diseases and disorders.

In the 18 months during which I have been serving as President of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR), we have seen three human clinical trials approved testing therapies derived from embryonic stem cell research. This is tremendous progress in a field that is considered, by research standards, as still young and growing.

Today’s ruling, while decisive, does not necessarily mean an end to court activity.  It is however another strong signal to the research community that embryonic stem cell research will continue to be supported by Federal research guidelines, hopefully allowing continued progress towards new therapies and understanding of so many diseases including cancer impacting individuals worldwide.  While we would not be surprised if the plaintiffs take advantage of their right to appeal this decision, we are confident in the strength of today’s ruling because it follows the analysis of the Court of Appeals opinion of this past April.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation will continue our longtime advocacy to help fund all fields of research and ensure the strongest level of support for medical research possible.  For more information, or to become a member of our Advocacy Action Center visit our website. Congratulations to all of you who have been active advocates for this issue!