NIH Pauses New hESC Registry Submissions, Seeks Input on Alternative Biotechnologies

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced that it is pausing the review and approval of new submissions to the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) Registry and evaluating opportunities to reduce reliance on hESCs in NIH-supported research. The pause does not affect the 503 previously approved hESC lines eligible for NIH-funded research.

NIH stated that the pause reflects shifts in the biomedical research landscape, including increased use of nonembryonic (adult/somatic) stem cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells, which may complement or, in some cases, replace hESC-based research models.

As part of the agency’s evaluation, it is seeking input on areas in which currently approved hESC lines sufficiently meet research needs and areas where research could not be pursued if hESCs were unavailable. NIH also invited feedback on research areas where emerging technologies could replace hESC use and where investments should be made to bolster validated models to replace use of hESCs.

The deadline to provide feedback is April 24.