N.J. stem cell center advances

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey has approved the first funding to build a state stem cell research facility touted by Gov. Jon S. Corzine as key to combating federal restrictions on embryonic stem cell work.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority on Tuesday approved $9.2 million in preconstruction costs for the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick, which the governor said would attract the world's best researchers and boost the state's economy.

Corzine, a Democrat, deemed the funding 'an important first step in our growing partnership with private industry to fund this promising and potentially life saving science.'

'At a time when the Bush administration is pursuing a misguided policy on stem cells, I am proud that New Jersey is leading the way in promoting this lifesaving research,' the governor said.

Embryonic stem cells are created in the first days after conception and give rise to all the organs and tissues in the human body.

But while scientists hope they can someday use embryonic stem cells to replace diseased tissue, many social conservatives, including President Bush, oppose such work because embryos are destroyed during research.

In 2001, Bush imposed strict guidelines on embryonic stem cell work that scientists contend hinders research. In response, several states, including New Jersey, are paying for it themselves to skirt the federal restrictions.

California voters have approved spending $3 billion on stem cell research in the next 10 years; Connecticut has a $100 million stem cell research program; Illinois spent $10 million last year; and Maryland recently awarded $15 million in grants.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed spending $1 billion in the biotechnology industry, including stem-cell research.

The Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey will be built in downtown New Brunswick, adjacent to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and across the street from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. It will feature facilities for research and outpatient treatment, and be a collaborative effort between The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers University.

Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, which opposes embryonic stem cell research, expressed dismay at the plans.

'The taxpayers should be outraged,' Tasy said.

The state is currently looking for a director to run the $150 million institute, which will be paid for with bonds issued by the Economic Development Authority.

The money will pay for design, engineering and other preconstruction requirements, though it was unclear Tuesday when construction would begin and be completed.

'We can create the climate to facilitate this important research, while at the same time growing our economy with well paying jobs,' Corzine said.

The state also plans to spend $50 million to build stem cell research facilities at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark; $50 million on a biomedical research center in Camden; $10 million to support research at the Garden State Cancer Center and $10 million to do the same at the Eli Katz Umbilical Cord Blood Program in Allendale.

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