Stem cell initiative launched in U.K.

Stem Cells for Safer Medicines (London, U.K.) called for proposals from research partners to develop techniques to use stem cells for early safety testing of new therapeutics. The U.K.'s Department of Health started the consortium, which is a public-private non-profit initiative led by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and includes GlaxoSmithKline (LSE:GSK; GSK), AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN; AZN) and Roche (SWX:ROG). The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills; the Scottish government; the Medical Research Council; and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council also will participate. ...