Massachusetts Governor Proposes $1B Stem-Cell Plan

Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts has proposed a plan for committing $1-billion over the next decade to life-sciences research, including the creation of a stem-cell bank, in an effort to make the state a global leader in biotechnology.

The plan, outlined during a speech at the BIO 2007 convention held at Boston, includes a 10-year, $1 billion investment package to ensure the state’s ability to support life sciences progress “from the idea stage through the production stage.”

The initiative calls for the creation of a stem-cell bank that will serve a centralized repository of stem-cell lines for public and private research. Boston University, Brigham and Women’s, Children’s Hospital, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners HealthCare, and the University of Massachusetts have already agreed to participate in the bank when it is completed.

Key to the Governor’s plan is new legislation to strengthen the Massachusetts Life Science Center and charge it with the execution of a life sciences mission focused on science and economic development, strategic investments at critical stages of the development cycle, and collaboration with the private sector to create innovation infrastructure critical to both researchers and companies.