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Stem cell institute touted
Lawmakers push stem cell institute
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
By DEBORAH HOWLETT
Newhouse News Service
Lawmakers in both houses yesterday advanced the plan to create a Stem Cell Institute in New Brunswick, as well as research labs in Newark and Camden. But the bill is on hold until lawmakers can answer a $50 million question.
Yesterday, an Assembly Committee and the full Senate both voted to add a stem cell research facility at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark to the plan.
The Senate version adds $50 million for NJIT to the $200 million already in the bill for a Stem Cell Institute in New Brunswick and a research facility in Camden. But the Assembly version carves out $50 million for the Newark project while keeping the total cost at $200 million.
Under the Senate bill, sponsored by Senate President Richard Codey, the institute would include:
-- A $50 million lab in Newark, where the focus would be on commercial applications and clinical trials of adult stem cells.
-- A $150 million facility at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, to be run jointly by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. It would focus on cutting-edge research on stem cells, including embryonic stem cells.
-- A $50 million facility at Rutgers-Camden in collaboration with the Coriell Institute for Medical Research and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, focused on stem cells from cord blood, placentas and other human tissue.
"This is an exciting time for the scientific, research and academic communities to be joining together," Sen. Wayne Bryant, D-Lawnside, said. "Very good things will happen by attracting the greatest research minds in the nation."
The measure (S-1741) was amended yesterday afternoon by a 24-13 vote, largely along party lines with most of the 18 Senate Republicans opposed. Parliamentary procedure dictated that a vote on the amended bill be postponed until Monday's Senate session.
Earlier in the day, a similar measure won approval in the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee.
The Assembly bill, which passed on a 9-2 vote, would authorize construction of the same three sites, but allocated only $100 million to the facility in New Brunswick. The bill now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for further review, a normal route for measures with a fiscal impact.
© 2006
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
Stem cell institute touted
Lawmakers push stem cell institute
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
By DEBORAH HOWLETT
Newhouse News Service
Lawmakers in both houses yesterday advanced the plan to create a Stem Cell Institute in New Brunswick, as well as research labs in Newark and Camden. But the bill is on hold until lawmakers can answer a $50 million question.
Yesterday, an Assembly Committee and the full Senate both voted to add a stem cell research facility at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark to the plan.
The Senate version adds $50 million for NJIT to the $200 million already in the bill for a Stem Cell Institute in New Brunswick and a research facility in Camden. But the Assembly version carves out $50 million for the Newark project while keeping the total cost at $200 million.
Under the Senate bill, sponsored by Senate President Richard Codey, the institute would include:
-- A $50 million lab in Newark, where the focus would be on commercial applications and clinical trials of adult stem cells.
-- A $150 million facility at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, to be run jointly by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. It would focus on cutting-edge research on stem cells, including embryonic stem cells.
-- A $50 million facility at Rutgers-Camden in collaboration with the Coriell Institute for Medical Research and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, focused on stem cells from cord blood, placentas and other human tissue.
"This is an exciting time for the scientific, research and academic communities to be joining together," Sen. Wayne Bryant, D-Lawnside, said. "Very good things will happen by attracting the greatest research minds in the nation."
The measure (S-1741) was amended yesterday afternoon by a 24-13 vote, largely along party lines with most of the 18 Senate Republicans opposed. Parliamentary procedure dictated that a vote on the amended bill be postponed until Monday's Senate session.
Earlier in the day, a similar measure won approval in the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee.
The Assembly bill, which passed on a 9-2 vote, would authorize construction of the same three sites, but allocated only $100 million to the facility in New Brunswick. The bill now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for further review, a normal route for measures with a fiscal impact.
© 2006
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 11:07 AM
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