California Stem Cell funding: Other US states seek similar funds
The massive windfall of over $3 billion US dollars to Californian stem cell reseachers continues to rattle the biotech world (see previous ScanBalt news, here). It would seem that the vast sum of money that the California tax payers voted to release to further stem cell research, in their state, has provoked other states to consider a similar policy – despite the contradiction with US policy on this subject.
New York state, for example, is currently promoting a bid to raise $1 billion dollars for stem cell research and New Jersey, as well as other US states, are seriously considering similar fund raising efforts. The reasoning is simple, they do not want to be left behind, in a sector which the electorate is increasingly recognising as being of great importance.
Will this snowballing of fund raising reach over the Atlantic? – perhaps, but European stem cell science must be able to respond in a similarly speedy manner if it intends to compete with such accelerated US development.
News Source: The Examiner, Jan 19th, 2005
