Hype over experience: The commercial potential of stem cells
By The Economist,
The Economist
| 09. 22. 2005
MEDICAL discoveries often excite great hopes_and stem cells are no exception. They can transform themselves into other types of tissue, such as skin or nerve cells. This opens the possibility that they might be used to repair damage done by disease. As a result, stem cells have been credited with almost miraculous healing potential, offering the possibility of treating disorders from diabetes to damaged spinal cords.
With such great medical promise come grand financial predictions. Some analysts have forecast a $10 billion market for stem-cell technologies by 2010. But not Michael Steiner and Nils Behnke, consultants with Bain & Company. They have taken a close look at the state of the science, regulation and commercial environment surrounding stem cells and come up with a far more modest (and convincing) forecast of $100m for stem-cell therapies by the end of this decade, possibly rising to $2 billion by 2015.
with abortion or cloning. Since it is the federal government which has the biggest pot of research money, many scientists are frustrated by the pace of development.
All eyes are now on...
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