Aggregated News
SACRAMENTO - A proposal to enact stricter conflict-of-interest rules on stem-cell research funded by Proposition 71 sailed out of a Senate committee Wednesday, over the objections of stem-cell advocates who say the rules will alienate the best scientists.
The proposal would require the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which was created by Proposition 71, to abide by National Institutes of Health standards that were recently revised to bar employees from holding biotech or pharmaceutical stocks.
But in California's case, the rules also would apply to scientists who serve on the institute's advisory groups, as well as to staff and board members.
State Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, said the rules, which she sponsored and which passed unanimously, were necessary because researchers will be using public money. The institute will fund $3 billion in stem-cell research over a 10-year period.
``There is a higher level of accountability,'' she said. ``This is a hybrid. This is a new model. In the end, it is the taxpayers who either benefit of lose in that equation.''
While refusing formally to take a position, representatives of...
The proposal would require the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which was created by Proposition 71, to abide by National Institutes of Health standards that were recently revised to bar employees from holding biotech or pharmaceutical stocks.
But in California's case, the rules also would apply to scientists who serve on the institute's advisory groups, as well as to staff and board members.
State Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, said the rules, which she sponsored and which passed unanimously, were necessary because researchers will be using public money. The institute will fund $3 billion in stem-cell research over a 10-year period.
``There is a higher level of accountability,'' she said. ``This is a hybrid. This is a new model. In the end, it is the taxpayers who either benefit of lose in that equation.''
While refusing formally to take a position, representatives of...