New York State to Fund Stem Cell Research

["ljherman1@xxxxxxxx" <ljherman1@xxxxxxxx>]

New York State to Fund Stem Cell ResearchBy Constance Holden
ScienceNOW Daily News
2 April 2007
New York State has finally entered the stem cell arena with the intention of 
becoming a big-time player second only to California. The state will put $100 
million into the research in fiscal year 2008, and stem cell supporters expect 
the number ultimately to reach $1 billion over a decade. On the night of 31 
March, minutes before the beginning of the state's 2008 fiscal year, 
legislators passed a budget that includes $100 million for stem cell research. 
The money will be administered by a new entity set up within the state health 
department. In addition, for the next 10 years, the state will provide up to 
$50 million annually for stem cell research from a fund created from the sale 
of state-run insurance plans to private entities. In addition to this, 
according to Robin Elliott, head of the Parkinson's Disease Foundation in New 
York, and member of the coalition New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical 
Research, stem cell supporters are optimistic that the legislature will 
appropriate an additional $50 million a year. State legislators have been 
trying for years to set up a stem cell initiative. They were able to pull it 
off this year thanks to the support of a new Democratic governor, Eliot 
Spitzer. Elected last year, Spitzer initially wanted a California-style bond 
issue to raise $1 billion for stem cell research in New York. The newly passed 
measure outlaws reproductive cloning but makes no mention of research 
cloning--otherwise known as somatic cell nuclear transfer. Elliott says the 
measure is couched in the vaguest possible terms in order to avoid kicking up 
resistance from opponents of human embryonic stem cell research. The words 
"human" and "embryonic" do not appear in the text, which also does not mention 
federal policies that prohibit federally funded researchers from doing research 
with human embryonic cell lines created since 2001. Researchers are "deeply 
grateful" that New York has taken the stem cell plunge, says Kenneth Davis, 
president of New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center. The law calls for the 
establishment of a 13-member Empire State Stem Cell Board to be appointed by 
the governor, which will administer the new Empire State Stem Cell Fund for 
research in the state. It's good to have it "right in the heart of the 
bureaucracy," says Elliott--in part because it will not be vulnerable to 
lawsuits as in the case of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. 
Elliott says the board will set up panels of outside scientists--most likely 
not from New York--to review the grants. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE:  New York State PAN coordinators and other Parkinson's grassroots 
advocates played an important role in these efforts.
Linda

----------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn