CGS-authored
In the 13 months since California voters approved spending $3 billion of their tax dollars on stem cell research, not a dime has gone to scientists.
There have been 54 public meetings surrounding the start-up of the state's new Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Yet two of its most important policies and plans have not been established: a plan for how to handle ownership of discoveries resulting from institute-funded research and a scientific strategic plan, the cornerstone of the institute.
The stem cell initiative was pitched as a vehicle for investing in a technology that many hope can lead to cures for some of society's most devastating and costly diseases. It was designed to speed the science toward marketable cures.
But those charged with getting the institute running have been thwarted by lawsuits challenging its constitutionality and tying up its funding. They also have been stymied by the amount of work, politics and minutiae involved in setting up a state agency that's unlike any other. Adding to the complexity of their task, members of the initiative's oversight committee said, is the...
There have been 54 public meetings surrounding the start-up of the state's new Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Yet two of its most important policies and plans have not been established: a plan for how to handle ownership of discoveries resulting from institute-funded research and a scientific strategic plan, the cornerstone of the institute.
The stem cell initiative was pitched as a vehicle for investing in a technology that many hope can lead to cures for some of society's most devastating and costly diseases. It was designed to speed the science toward marketable cures.
But those charged with getting the institute running have been thwarted by lawsuits challenging its constitutionality and tying up its funding. They also have been stymied by the amount of work, politics and minutiae involved in setting up a state agency that's unlike any other. Adding to the complexity of their task, members of the initiative's oversight committee said, is the...