The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) will be collaborating with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) on stem cell research. CIRM already has agreements with six other countries: Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, the state of Victoria in Australia, Spain and Japan.

The press releases stressed that “all research, especially in clinical trials, will uphold the strictest ethical standards”. These words may not allay misgivings about research in a country which had become a centre for stem cell tourism, with patients flocking to hospitals for unproven treatments.

Ethical guidelines were issued for the first time in May this year. Chinese institutions were banned from commercialising stem cell treatments without first proving that they were working through proper clinical trials. Qiu Renzong, vice president of the Chinese ministry of health's ethics committee, told New Scientist at the time that more than 50 institutions in China were engaged in stem cell research. Many of these were offering to cure patients of conditions ranging "from diabetes to spinal injuries". They usually charge thousands of dollars per course of treatment, he said. "Anecdotal evidence is given of people making incredible recoveries, but with nothing equivalent to controlled clinical trials to back them up," Qiu said.

“Chinese authorities now face a huge challenge enforcing the new regulations, given the size of the country and the number of institutions conducting stem cell research,” New Scientist noted. How the CIRM will deal with these difficulties is yet to be seen. ~ New Scientist, Sept 4; iStockAnalyst, Oct 19