Reuters reports that New Jersey will spend $380 million to create a stem cell research institute, putting it in second place behind California’s $3 billion voter-approved effort.
Although New Jersey lacks Massachusetts’s and California’s university presence, it is home to several major drug companies and has plenty of high-powered researchers within its borders. So if MA is serious about jumping on this bandwagon, it had better do so with all deliberate speed.
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New Jersey is moving full steam ahead with the stem cell initiative and I just wanted to update you on what is happening in the State. Yesterday, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved the allocation of $150 million in unused bond capacity for the construction of the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The Governor wants construction of the research facility to begin in August and hopefully New Jersey Legislators will approve a measure to allow the voters to chose whether or not the $230 million dollars for funding would be made available. It would be placed on the November ballot.A few weeks ago, Governor Codey announced that a bioethics committee has been established and will be headed by Harold Shapiro PhD, former chairman of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission under President Clinton. The creation of this panel will undoubtedly put to rest some tribulations opponents of stem cell research may hold. The panel will monitor the activities of the researchers and ensure that research takes precedence over the politics.