N.J.'s big-bucks experiment

With little fanfare and no direct approval of the electorate, the state of New Jersey has spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting the biotech industry.

Powerful forces are hard at work in Trenton, selling biotechnology as a way to simultaneously bolster the state economy and improve the health of citizens. Acting Governor Codey has been front and center, promoting a plan to spend $380 million more on research into embryonic stem cells.


Much is at stake in a state where 200,000 jobs depend on the pharmaceutical industry and its ability to develop the next generation of miracle medicines.

But New Jersey's partnership with biotech is already running into problems. It is cloaked in secrecy and riddled with the potential for conflicts. Its goals are at times nebulous.

A thorough review of the effort by The Record found:


Millions of your tax dollars have gone to companies that take valuable research, profits and jobs from New Jersey and strengthen the biotech industry elsewhere.


Millions are being spent on tax breaks and other public subsidies for small biotechs and big pharmaceutical...