Cells from aborted fetus used for Trump’s Covid-19 treatment reignite controversy. Vaccine researchers wish it would go away
- Though controversial, the use of decades-old aborted embryo’s cells which have been modified to divide without limit hastens scientific advances
- Regeneron antibody treatment Trump had for Covid-19 was made using them, and a researcher working on a vaccine says it would ‘be a crime’ to ban their use
It is no secret that thousands of laboratories around the world use cells derived from a fetus that was aborted decades ago to develop vital medicines.
But it is a contentious topic in the United States, where conservatives and anti-abortion activists have long deemed the practice unethical.
Gambotto has used a cell line called HEK293, the same used by Regeneron, as part of his research for 25 years. “It’d be a crime to ban the use of these cells,” he added. “It never harmed anybody – it was a dead embryo so the cells back then, instead of being discarded, they were used for research.”
The big advantage of these cells, which were developed in the early 1970s, is that they now represent a “gold standard” in the pharmaceutical industry. If Gambotto – who is leading a Covid-19 vaccine research project himself – one day succeeds, his vaccine can be produced anywhere in the world, thanks to HEK293.