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Sunday, February 13, 2005

Biotech - More on debate over human cloning

On Jan. 14th and Jan. 17th the ILB had entries on the "Debate brewing in Indiana over human cloning." There have been several interesting national stories on this topic within the past week.

"Massachusetts Governor Opposes Stem Cell Work" was the headline to this story last Thursday in the NY Times. The lead:

BOSTON, Feb. 9 - Setting up a political battle over stem cell research, Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts said this week that he would propose legislation to outlaw a type of embryonic stem cell research that is being planned by laboratories at Harvard University and other institutions in the state.

The governor's remarks came as Democratic lawmakers were introducing legislation that would promote embryonic stem cell research, partly in an effort to keep the state's large stable of research scientists and biotechnology companies from moving to California or other states that are providing support or financial incentives for such research.

The president of the Massachusetts Senate, Robert E. Travaglini, a Democrat, introduced such a bill on Wednesday, saying he wanted "to send a clear message that we are going to authorize this kind of research."

See this related article from Friday's Berkshire Eagle.

This article today in the Washington Post reports on "A Struggling Science Experiment: States Closely Watch California's Stem Cell Research Initiative." It begins:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Last fall, a group of pioneering scientists, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs sold Californians on the ultimate startup, one with shoot-for-the-moon ambitions. The men and women pitched the state's residents on a new science that they said might one day lead to cures for humankind's worst diseases. "Save Lives with Stem Cells!" campaign posters urged.

Today, however, a little more than three months after state voters approved a measure allocating $3 billion in public funds for stem cell and related research, organizers are struggling with more down-to-earth concerns. * * *

The stakes surrounding California's initiative have only grown higher in recent weeks with the discovery that much of the most promising research probably cannot be conducted with federal funds because President Bush has restricted the money to certain lines of stem cells which now appear contaminated.

California's experiment is being watched closely by other states. Maryland this month became the most recent state, joining Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin, to allocate or consider allocating their own money to stem cell research.

Proposition 71's creators thought the best way to tackle stem cell research was to create a government agency in a very non-government-like way. The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine would be run like a corporate startup, with the state's populace effectively serving as shareholders. Elected state officials, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), appointed a panel of 29 scientists, businessmen and university administrators to oversee the effort, in hopes of issuing the first grants in May.

To streamline and speed things along, the state decided to exempt parts of the organization from many of the traditional rules that government entities must follow, including some regulations governing how agencies spend money.

Interesting ...

Not quite on point, but too important to those following this area to miss, is this long article today in the Washington Post about the patenting of "humanized animals" and the question - "At what point is something too human to patent?"

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 13, 2005 12:18 PM
Posted to Biotech | General Law Related | Indiana Law | Indiana economic development