Carl B. Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), today issued the following statement on the passing of Christopher Reeve, actor and medical research advocate:“Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed from the neck down in horseback riding accident in 1995, turned his condition into an inspiring effort to educate the public on the potential use of human embryonic stem cells to treat a range of ailments including diabetes, spinal-cord injuries, cancer and Parkinson’s disease.“Mr. Reeve was an uplifting voice at BIO’s annual meeting in Boston in 2000,” Feldbaum said.In his address to thousands of biotechnology scientists, Mr. Reeve said, “It’s important to give them [patients] hope – not to give them false hope, but to go back to what really is the American mantra, and it is a realistic mantra, that nothing is impossible. Tell them that. Let them know that.”
