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East-West Battle For Lead In Stem Cell Research Emerging By Linda A. Johnson - ASSOCIATED PRESS 2:24 p.m. November 9, 2004 TRENTON, N.J. – The new Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey, the first such institution sponsored by a state, will be up against tough competition for the best researchers now that California voters have backed a $3 billion fund for stem cell research. Two top officials of the New Jersey institute said Tuesday they have already begun recruiting researcher/physicians experienced in testing new treatments on patients and are working with the state's pharmaceutical and biotech companies on collaboration and funding deals. "What we must do is convince the pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies that New Jersey is a good place to do research," said Dr. Wise Young, who chairs the New Jersey institute's scientific advisory committee and is the founding director of the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University. "We are located in the largest biotechnology cluster in the world," with 19 of the 25 biggest pharmaceutical companies located in New Jersey or nearby, Young noted. Still, he fears that many of New Jersey's big drug makers and its nearly 200 biotech companies may move their stem cell research to California because they would have to work in that state to win any of its funding. Embryonic stem cells potentially can be turned into any type of human tissue. Many scientists believe these cells eventually could enable them to reverse paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries and to replace malfunctioning cells to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes. New Jersey's institute was established on May 12 and is holding its first research symposium Thursday in New Brunswick, where institute facilities will be constructed. Scientists already hired by the institute now are working in temporary quarters, mostly at the two universities that will run it, Rutgers and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Despite its head start, the institute is at a clear financial disadvantage. California voters last Tuesday approved spending $3 billion on human embryonic stem cell research over the next decade. In New Jersey, the state has appropriated $9.5 million for the current fiscal year, and another $1 million each is being contributed by Rutgers and UMDNJ. Young said the institute needs at least $1 billion over five years to be competitive with California. Dr. Ira Black, the New Jersey institute's founding director, said he has been talking with area pharmaceutical companies interested in stem cell research and tissue engineering – generating new organs or parts of them to replace damaged or diseased ones – about collaborating with the institute or giving financial support. He said Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical and biotech companies, is interested. California's funding is to be distributed by grants focused on research on stem cells taken from embryos – because federal funding is not allowed for such research except on a limited number of stem cell lines created before August 2001. Black said New Jersey's strategy will be different. It has a centralized institute, is seeking collaborations with researchers around the world rather than requiring them to work in New Jersey and will work on stem cells both from embryos and from adult bone marrow. SOURCE: Associated Press / San Diego Union Tribune, CA http://tinyurl.com/4g5q7 * * * Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> Please place this address in your address book Please purge all others Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn