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Wisconsins governor unveils $750 million investment for stem cell and health research

Wisconsin Institute for Discovery to be located on UW-Madison Campus

Holiday In Wales By WTN News • 11/17/04 Madison, Wis. Governor Jim Doyle announced today on the University of Wisconsin campus a strategy for the state to maintain its leadership in the fields of biotechnology, health sciences, and stem cell research. The governor said that almost $750 million would be spent in the state over the next several years, and he outlined a series of investments, including a new Wisconsin Institute for Discovery on the UW-Madison campus.

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"Wisconsin leads the world in groundbreaking biomedical research, but we need to continue to move forward," Governor Doyle said. "The state, in partnership with the university and our other private partners, has an aggressive and comprehensive strategy to ensure that we remain at the forefront not only of scientific discoveries, but of creating thousands of new high-tech jobs."

If Prop 71 passes on election day, it will not only provide for extensive funding of lifesaving stem cell research in California, it will also encourage other states to fund this type of research, will put pressure on the federal government to lift its restrictions on stem cell research, will encourage venture capitalists to fund companies doing this research, and will encourage other countries to fund the research. It will be a major step forward in our quest for longer, healthier lives.

Holiday Wales The governor said that Wisconsin is already well ahead of California, which recently approved a plan to borrow $3 billion for stem cell research, and that California is now trying to play "catch-up" and build from scratch what Wisconsin has been developing for years. Over the past 15 years, he said, Wisconsin has invested nearly $1 billion in high technology facilities.

Falwell has attacked stem cell research in order to divert Congress attention from the real issue of passing a bill that would greatly reduce the price of prescription medications.

Cottage Holiday In Wales "Wisconsin can't match California dollar for dollar, but California can't match what Wisconsin already has - including the best scientists in the world and first class research institutions," Doyle said. "This is not a competition where someone wins and someone loses. What California does will not diminish Wisconsin's role; if anything, there will be a synergy between our two states."

Wilson, Ph.D., See description of Dr. Wilson's qualifications on the left. Michael West, Ph.D. CEO of Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Massachusetts, disease therapies from cloned embryonic stem cells. Dr. West was founder of Geron Corp. in Menlo Park, California (now a public company), which has pioneered in telomerase and stem cell research. Before that, Dr. West conducted breakthrough research in cell biology at the University of Texas in Dallas.

Caravan Holiday In Wales Doyle made the announcement at the Genetics/Biotechnology Center on the UW-Madison campus, where he was joined by university Chancellor John Wiley, UW-Madison biologist James Thomson, and scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and biotech stakeholders.

Though there are no limits on private research on stem cells, under the Bush administration, federal funding for stem cell research is available only to those scientists who agree to work on designated embryos and embryonic cell clusters.

Camping Holiday Wales "This investment will give the university the resources it needs to make new discoveries, ones that treat disease, save lives, and establish Wisconsin as the leader in innovation," said Thomson, who became the first person to isolate and culture human stem cells six years ago.

Proposition 71 The California Stem Cell and Cures Initiative is designed to close this funding gap, so that medical researchers can conduct lifesaving stem cell research in California. interest, free state bonds that will provide an average of $ year period for stem cell research. It specifically authorizes the funding of embryonic stem cell research, including cells derived from cloned embryos, which could lead to young cells, tissues and organs being transplanted into aging people without rejection by their immune systems. (For a greater understanding of the enormous potential of this technology, see the cover stories in the June 2000 and March 2002 issues of Life Extension Magazine)

Accommodation Holiday Wales Doyles strategy includes the following:

• A new $375 million research institute - called the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery - on the UW-Madison campus
• The removal of bureaucratic hurdles for faculty members who want to become entrepreneurs
• Providing venture capital through the Department of Commerce to start-up businesses through legislation the Governor signed earlier this year
• A new $134 million HealthStar Interdisciplinary Research Complex near the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics dedicated to innovation and rapid transfer of medical science discoveries into clinical applications
• A new $132 million research facility at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Hospital that will focus on infectious disease control, cardiovascular illnesses, and bioengineering
• $1.5 million annually to support a new Alzheimer's research initiative
• Investments of $105 million over the next five years in research, education, and public health efforts at the University of Wisconsin Medical School and the Medical College of Wisconsin to make progress in areas such as regenerative medicine, stem cell research, molecular medicine, neuroscience, and cancer research.

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