Good news on the adult stem cell front from the big drug company Pfizer. It is gambling that diabetes-induced retinal damage can be treated with bone and blood marrow stem cells. An ophthalmologist with Scripps Research Institute, Martin Friedlander, has found that these cells have a remarkable ability to target and repair damaged blood vessels in the eye.

In the future, patients with early signs of blood-vessel damage in the eye would have a blood sample taken. Adult stem cells would be isolated and injected into the eye. The adult stem cells could stave off further blood-vessel damage for years, preserving eyesight that would otherwise be lost.

"It is unbelievable. These cells know where to go and they target the site of injury," said Friedlander. In his lab, he says that has cured mice "10 times over" in work funded by the National Eye Institute. The big question, he said, is whether the treatment will help people.

In general Big Pharma has stayed aloof from stem cell therapies. It is waiting to see whether universities and small start-up companies develop useful products first. But Pfizer seems enthusiastic about this project. "Pfizer has put its flag in the ground that there is future in regenerative medicine," said Corey Goodman, president of the company's biotech unit. "The eye is a very good place to be starting--it is an isolated organ, and there is a huge need."

According to Forbes, Pfizer has to be adventurous. Its share price has tumbled and its main drug, Lipitor, will face patent expiration in 2011. ~ Forbes, June 23