HYDERABAD: The draft guidelines framed by the Indian Council of Medical Research and Department of Biotechnology on stem cells research and therapy will be released for public debate in early January.

Briefing reporters at the end of a two-day meet of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) here on Wednesday, Director-General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, R.A. Mashelkar, and Deputy Director, ICMR, Vasantha Muthuswany, said that final guidelines were expected to be ready by the middle of next year after arriving at a consensus.

Subsequently, the legislative process for regulating research on stem cells, including embryonic and cord blood cells, would be completed. INSA would also finalise and release its positional paper on stem cell research in three months. They agreed on the need to have a national apex committee to constantly monitor the work of various institutions working on stem cell therapies.

Dr. Mashelkar said that future strategy on stem cell research would become a key part of the 11th Five-Year-Plan.

Breakthroughs crucial

Director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Lalji Singh said that many technological breakthroughs have to take place before stem cell therapies were actually commercialised. A.N. Bhisey, former Director, Cancer Research Institute, Mumbai, was also present.

Selected for medals

Dr. Mashelkar, who is also president of INSA, announced that the academy had selected M.S. Raghunathan, TIFR, Mumbai, for Aryabhatta medal, Yashpal for Meghand Saha medal, C.N.R Rao for INSA medal for service to science and R.D.Sharma, former Deputy Director-General, ICAR, for Indira Gandhi Prize for popularisation of science.

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