Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
embryonic stem cell research are having an adverse impact on the
progress of the field, patient demand has played an important role
in the development of the stem cell enterprise overall.
The question is though: which markets will prove to be the most
lucrative? While many of the options discussed so far are either
untested, experimental or hypothetical, what should be clear by now
is that a considerable demand for products exists, and this demand
can only be expected to continue to grow in the future. Human and
animal health products, anti-ageing and lifestyle medicines and
agricultural applications are the three key directions that could be
considered the future of the global stem cell markets. Unproven
human therapies and animal health products are clearly the two
most robust markets to date. Yet as the animal treatments serve as
models for more human clinical trials, it might be expected that
similar treatment modalities will be available for humans too.
Although stem cell treatments for humans require lengthy clinical
trials in many parts of the world, different regulatory regimes in
some places are proving to be a significant boon for companies in
those places. Regardless of global opinion regarding the safety,
efficacy or legitimacy of unproven treatments, they are currently
producing significant amounts of income. Yet as discussed previously,
these services have attracted much derision from the international
community, with many commentators arguing that they are unethical,
exploitative and risk undermining the development of legitimate
stem cell therapies. However, as more patients report incremental
improvements in every day well-being, it seems clear that the market
in unproven stem cell therapies will continue to grow.
Animal applications for stem cell technologies are potentially
particularly lucrative due to less regulatory restrictions. As the
emerging use of stem cells to treat domestic pets and racehorses has
demonstrated, there are readily available markets for stem cell
therapies for animals. Yet the debate over cloned meat products
indicates that negotiating community and regulatory sentiment is
potentially fraught for commercial agricultural developments.
Differences of opinion in specific regions globally highlight some of the
ongoing problems with developing food products from cloned animals.
Consequently, these markets may be best regarded as much more long
