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SEOUL: South Korea's disgraced cloning expert Hwang Woo-Suk is seeking foreign investors for his new pet cloning business, a scientist close to him said Thursday.
Hwang has set up a biotech firm capitalised at 1.3 million dollars, said the scientist, Park Se-Pill. It will focus on cloning pets for the time being but will also engage in research on producing organs for transplants, he said.
"Dr Hwang told me a few days ago that he wants to receive foreign investment through this company," Park told AFP, adding that US investors are interested in his expertise.
Hwang also wants to resume research into the cloning of human embryonic stem cells to try to clear his name, he said.
Hwang has been banned from research using human eggs after his claims that he created the first human stem cells through cloning were ruled to be bogus.
Still on trial for fraud, embezzlement, ethical breaches and other charges, Hwang has insisted in court that he could prove he created the first cloned human stem cells.
Hwang was stripped of all government honours and funds, including his title of "Supreme Scientist," after Seoul National University concluded that his claims -- first made public in a 2004 science journal -- were fake.
His former colleagues at Seoul National University created the world's first cloned dog, an Afghan hound named Snuppy, on a non-commercial basis in 2005.
They said Snuppy would become a father later this month following the first breeding of cloned canines. He successfully impregnated two cloned bitches of the same breed through artificial insemination, the researchers said.
Last month South Korean customs officials said the world's first cloned sniffer dogs -- created in a 300,000-dollar project by the university team -- had begun training and would report for duty this year. - AFP/ac
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