BIO Responds To Geron And Roslin Merger

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 4, 1999) Carl B. Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, issued the following statement upon the announcement of Geron's acquisition of Roslin Bio-Med and the formation of a research collaboration with the Roslin Institute with the aim of using human pluripotent stem cells, telomerase expression and nuclear transfer to accelerate the development of new transplantation therapies for numerous degenerative diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, cancer and heart disease:

"Combining these three advanced technologies is both an ambitious and exquisite enterprise. When we look back, we may mark this as one event that launched the new field of regenerative medicine. I expect that we will see more creative scientific and commercial collaborations coming from the biotechnology industry in the year ahead."

BIO represents more than 850 biotechnology companies, academic institutions and state biotechnology centers in 46 states and 26 nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health care, agricultural and industrial and environmental biotechnology products.

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