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The state of California is preparing to make a bet of up to $40 million on a fast-moving field that promises to revolutionize medicine and ultimately lead to personalized stem cell treatments that can be tailored for a patient’s genetic makeup.

Directors of the California stem cell agency are meeting in Berkeley on Wednesday to create one or two stem cell genomic centers that they predict will make the state a world leader in the new field. Scientists and businesses from biotech centers in the Bay Area, San Diego and elsewhere are competing for the money.

The move into genomics comes as the $3 billion agency struggles to fulfill the promises of the ballot initiative campaign of 2004, when voters approved its creation with a total of $6 billion in state spending, including the interest on bonds sold to finance the endeavor. So far, no therapies or cures have emerged from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is formally known. It will run out of cash for new awards in less than three years and needs...