A NORTH-EAST scientist with a novel idea for using stem cells to test new drugs is getting a rare chance to develop it for the business world.

Dr Nico Forraz, of Newcastle University, is one of only four scientists being given the opportunity to take part in a major national training programme aimed at helping turn ideas into businesses.

The hope is that it could create jobs in the region.

Dr Forraz and colleagues are able to grow new liver tissue from umbilical cord blood, using a microgravity bioreactor - electrical equipment that mimics the effects of weightlessness, originally designed by scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) programme in the US.

The idea is that drug development companies use the liver tissue to test drugs on, as evidence suggests the tissue will react in the same way that the organ itself does in the body.

Dr Forraz, senior research associate with the Newcastle-Durham-NHS Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, beat off stiff competition to get a place on the Creative Pioneer Programme.

Dr Forraz works with his colleague, Professor Colin McGuckin, to develop human tissues from stem cells for cellular therapies and regenerative medicine.

Their ability to grow liver tissue from umbilical cord blood gained international headlines last year.