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In Hong Kong, Corzine touts N.J. as stem cell mecca
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
By JEFF WHELAN
Newhouse News Service

HONG KONG -- Banking on action by lawmakers in Trenton to approve hundreds of millions in state funding, Gov. Jon Corzine yesterday pitched New Jersey as an international center for stem cell research to a group of Chinese scientists.

After touring the University of Hong Kong medical school -- where scientists have made recent advances in stem cell research -- Corzine called for a strong partnership between New Jersey and China, saying greater collaboration could "advance the course of mankind."

"In the long run we will all live a better life if we are able to pull this research together," Corzine said. "I want you to think New Jersey. We have very smart people who want to work with you all."

Corzine made his remarks to supporters of the China Spinal Cord Injury network, which will send 29 investigators to the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University in August to conduct clinical trials. That partnership was brokered by Wise Young, who leads the Rutgers center and helped launch the Chinese organization two years ago. Young hosted the event for Corzine yesterday in Hong Kong.

The governor has been seeking to raise New Jersey's profile as a center for stem cell research -- seen as a key to curing many diseases -- throughout his weeklong trade mission to East Asia.
In meetings with government officials and business leaders, Corzine has repeatedly highlighted New Jersey's prowess in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and a "legal framework" that allows for all types of stem cell research, including embryonic stem cell research. He said the state is "pushing the frontiers of stem cell research" and hoped to attract talent from around the world.

Corzine said greater collaboration could advance science and was also "good economics" because it would put people to work chasing cures for diseases such as juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer's and spinal cord injuries. He said there are 400,000 people in the United States and 1 million in China who suffer from spinal cord injuries.

The state Senate last week passed a bill to invest $250 million to build stem cell and biomedical research centers in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden, but it has been stalled in the Assembly. Both houses are controlled by Corzine's fellow Democrats, but they have not yet agreed on how to spend the money.

"There is going to be an agreement at some point but I do not know when," Assemblyman Neil Cohen, D-Roselle, the bill's sponsor, said yesterday in Trenton. "The governor will play an integral part in forming an executive and legislative branch compromise."

Young, the chair of the search committee for the director of the New Jersey Stem Cell Institute, which would be built in New Brunswick, expressed frustration with the delay in the Legislature in an interview yesterday. He said New Jersey is losing ground to other states, especially California.

Young, who also sits on California's scientific advisory board, said he expects court battles over funding for stem cell research in that state to be resolved soon, freeing up $350 million by the end of this year.

Staff writer Tom Hester in Trenton contributed to this report.

© 2006 The Times of Trenton
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