Stem cell pioneer apologises for controversy

South Korean researcher Hwang Woo-suk stood by his purported breakthroughs in stem cell technology today despite accusations he falsified key evidence.

He said his work would be authenticated after tests performed within days.

“Our research team made patient-specific embryonic stem cells and we have the technology to produce them,” Hwang told a news conference.

However, Hwang said he today asked for the journal Science to withdraw a landmark article published in May due to problems with the accompanying photos. Previously, Hwang’s team told Science that some duplicate photos of the same stem cell colonies had accidentally been printed, and the journal’s editors had said the mistake didn’t affect the findings.

The former collaborator of Hwang’s who touched off the latest round of questions on the research maintained today that Hwang wasn’t telling the truth. Roh Sung-il, chairman of the board at Mizmedi Hospital and a co-author of the article, repeated his accusations that Hwang had pressured a lab worker to forge evidence.

“He’s avoiding taking the responsibility that he should take,” Roh, who provided human eggs to Hwang, told a news conference.

Hwang said he was “shocked” by Roh’s remarks, and alleged that five of his stem cell colonies had been replaced with those produced by Mizmedi – calling for law enforcement authorities to investigate how that happened.

Some of the cells Hwang created died after being contaminated, he said. But Hwang said cells were now being unfrozen that would serve to prove the veracity of his work within 10 days.

“I would like to have time to confirm the validity of the technology,” he said.

The Science article purported to show how individual stem cell colonies were created for 11 patients through cloning – a key breakthrough that scientists hoped could help eventually lead to finding cures for hard-to-treat diseases.

University of Pittsburgh researcher Gerald Schatten has already asked that Science remove him as the senior author of the report, citing questions about the paper’s accuracy.

The South Korean government said today that a scientific review must be conducted to determine the veracity of Hwang’s research.

After an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, the government said it would wait to take further action until after an internal probe by Seoul National University, where Hwang works.

The university announced today it had appointed a nine-member investigation panel – seven from within the university and two from other South Korean institutions.

“The investigation won’t take much time if Hwang’s research team faithfully co-operates in submitting data,” said Roe Jung-hye, dean of research affairs at the university, adding it could be just a week or two.

Hwang is considered a national hero in South Korea and is strongly supported by the government, which has given him 25 billion won (€20.6bn) for his research.

The allegations against Hwang have shocked the country, also hitting the South Korean stock market this morning and sending shares sharply lower – particularly those related to the medical and stem cell fields.

Hwang’s work has recently come under a cloud of suspicion. Last month, he publicly apologised after admitting that, despite earlier denials, he used eggs from two female scientists in his lab – a violation of international ethics guidelines.

Hwang – a trained veterinarian – also then stepped down as head of the World Stem Cell Hub, an international project launched in October aimed at finding treatments for incurable diseases.

The South Korean researcher claimed last year to have cloned the world’s first human embryos and extract stem cells from them, and announced the world’s first cloned dog in August – achievements that haven’t yet come under direct question.