Geoffrey Lomax [Senior Officer for Medical Standards, California Institute for Regenerate Medicine]: "CIRM welcomes Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth's dismissal of Sherely v. Sebelius. The National Institute of Health (NIH) Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research represent sound public policy consistent with the approach adopted by CIRM, other states and the international community. The NIH Guidelines support autonomy by offering individuals with embryos leftover from in vitro fertilization an option other than disposal.

Given these embryos would otherwise be discarded, it difficult to understand how the plaintiffs are harmed by NIH policy. Further, the assertion that the policy harms "adult" stem cell researchers by creating competition for research funds is fallacious. The plaintiffs attempt to perpetuate a false dichotomy. CIRM's Disease Team Awards, recommended by an expert peer review panel, include funding of research involving therapies derived from both "adult" and "embryonic" stem cells.

Creating artificial distinctions and then imposing restrictions is truly harmful both to patients in need of cures and society as a whole. The results of the Disease Team competition demonstrate how regenerative medicine requires an environment where researchers can draw on the all tools available to address human disease. Having patient-appropriate cells or cell-products - from either adult or embryonic sources - is the key to therapies and cures. The new Guidelines support this approach and enable NIH researchers to effectively pursue this mission in a responsible and ethical manner."