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Disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk’s dream of carrying out stem cell research in Libya is still alive even after the death of the African country’s strongman Moammar Gadhafi who was believed to have backed the scheme.
Korea’s Sooam Biotech Research Foundation (SBRF) leader Hyun Sang-hwan said Friday that the foundation is in talks with scientific representatives of the country’s National Transitional Council (NTC) regarding the bioengineering project.
If agreed to, Libya is supposed to offer a huge amount of money to SBRF, whose research is headed by Hwang, so that the Seoul-based biotech institute can conduct embryonic stem cell research, which is banned here to it, near Tripoli.
``Many top scientists, who worked under the Gadhafi administration, fled to the NTC. They are still positive about the agreement and are talking with us. Contract negotiations are ongoing,’’ said Hyun, also a professor at Chungbuk National University.
Early this year, Hwang was on the brink of concluding a contract with Libya’s Dana Bioscience and Medical Service under which the latter planned to provide 98 million euros for biotech research over the next five years.
In return, Libya aimed to nurture bioengineering as its next-generation growth engine after its oil production tails off, and build a large-sized clinic with the help of Hwang’s team.
It was regarded as a sure deal because the state-run Dana was closely connected to national security advisor Mutassim Gadhafi, the fourth son of Moammar Gadhafi. Both were killed on Thursday.
The venture initially fell apart in February due to the anti-government armed revolt in Libya and the general expectation has been that the NTC would not continue the policy initiated by Gadhafi, a belief that Hyun claims is not true.
``Scientists are relatively free from the political change in Libya. We are negotiating with scientists and hope to reach a positive conclusion. They already asked for our help in other segments,’’ Hyun said.
Hwang rose to global stardom in 2004 and 2005 by claiming to have cloned human embryonic stem cells for the first time in history. But later studies found that his team doctored data and there were no patient-specific stem cells, which can deal with such degenerative illnesses as diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
Hwang became a scientific pariah but regained some of this authority through animal cloning _ his team cloned dogs for the first time in the world and achieved success in inter-species experiments by duplicating coyotes with canine eggs.
In the meantime, Gadhafi’s death is expected to give a big boost to domestic builders, which have briskly advanced into the North African country but suffered some jitters due to the recent conflict there.
On top of their previous contracts, contractors strive to carve out a big chunk of Libyan investment to rebuild its infrastructure and facilities, which were destroyed in the midst of the civil war.
The Korea Investment-Trade Promotion Agency (KOTRA) predicted that Korean builders will be able to win around a third of construction orders.
Buoyed by the news, investors also snapped up shares of construction companies, pushing up their stock prices Friday on the Seoul bourse. Hyundai Engineering and Construction, one of the leading construction companies here, jumped 7.17 percent to 68,700 won.
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