CGS-authored
More than a decade ago, Californians made a $3 billion wager on the healing potential of stem cell research.
Today, with that money projected to start running out in the next few years, what does the state have to show for it?
First, a recap.
In 2004, voters approved Proposition 71, a bond measure amounting to $6 billion with interest, which created a stem cell agency to help fund research. It was in part a response to limits on federal funding for stem cell research imposed by the government over concerns about destroying human embryos.
Campaigners at the time suggested the research could yield cures for afflictions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and cancer.
The measure passed with 59 percent in support, and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, based in Oakland, was born.
Some of what’s happened since then:
• More than 750 grants distributed
• A dozen research facilities constructed
• Roughly 2,000 scholarly papers published
• More than 2,400 students and young scientists trained
• About 30 projects that include clinical trials funded
Still, the...