WASHINGTON (AP) — Shares of companies developing stem cells are surging on news that the federal government has cleared 13 new stem cell lines for testing, bringing to a close nearly a decade of restrictions.
President Obama lifted the Bush-era ban on federal funding for new stem cell research last spring. However, federal funding was on hold until the National Institutes of Health named the new stem cell lines that are ethically appropriate for testing.
The prior policy had limited taxpayer-funded research to about 21 stem cell lines, those already in existence as of August 2001.
Shares of industry leader Geron Corp. rose 53 cents, or 9.7 percent, to $5.97 in afternoon trading. Shares of StemCells Inc. rose 22 cents, or 20.4 percent, to $1.33.
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