Columbia Joins 16 Ny Universities In Calling For State Support Of Stem Cell Research

NEW YORK, NY, February 8, 2006 - Leaders of New York’s major research universities and institutions today called upon lawmakers in Albany to act quickly and establish a state fund to support stem cell research.

Presidents and chancellors representing 17 New York universities and institutions with substantial biomedical and life sciences research programs today released a comprehensive analysis of the scientific, therapeutic, and economic issues related to stem cell research. The study, titled “New York and Stem Cell Research,” details the competitive research environment that has emerged in past several years and its implications for the state’s biomedical research community and economy.

Federal funding restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research have prompted several states to establish state-based research funds aimed at capturing the scientific and commercial potential of this new field of medicine. The most prominent example is California, where last year voters approved an initiative to establish a 10-year, $3 billion stem cell research fund. Several other states, including New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and Maryland in the Northeast, have or are in the process of establishing similar funds.

While New York’s research institutions are widely acknowledged to possess the scientific talent that would enable the state to be a major international player in the emerging field of stem cell research, the fear is that these researchers will be recruited away to institutions in other states where they would have access to more resources to pursue their research. The loss of these scientists will have a significant negative ripple effect on a university’s entire research enterprise as research grants, junior scientists, biotech companies, and venture capital will similarly migrate to those institutions that are perceived to be on the cutting edge of biomedical research.

“Stem cell research has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of human biology and lead to treatments for some of the most debilitating diseases, like Parkinson's, ALS, and juvenile diabetes,” said Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center. “Current federal policy has severely restricted the funding available for this important work, and, in the absence of leadership from Washington, states must assume a major role. New York State has some of the finest medical schools, teaching hospitals, and other research institutions in the world. If we do not act, we risk being left behind. At Columbia, we are doing exciting work with adult and human embryonic stem cells. State support for stem cell research will help New York remain a leader in this field, and in all biomedical research, as we should be.”

A decline in the fortunes of New York’s biomedical research community would have significant economic consequences for the entire state. New York’s State universities, teaching hospitals, and research laboratories contribute significantly to the state’s economy through employment, through spending and through the development of innovative products and concepts for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The academic medical community contributes an estimated $30 billion per year to the state’s economy and generates more than 459,000 jobs. The biotech and pharmaceutical sectors are responsible for $18.1 billion in economic activity and 110,000 jobs.

There are several proposals related to biomedical research pending consideration in the New York legislature. Two bills, introduced last year by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Sen. Nicholas Spano, would establish multi-year stem cell research funds of $300 and $125 million respectively. The Assembly passed its version of the bill on January 10, by a vote of 96-35. On January 26, Governor George Pataki and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno announced a $200 million public-private initiative to support biomedical research and biotech business development.

Signatories to the study include:

James J. Barba, President Albany Medical Center Lee C. Bollinger, J.D., President Columbia University Nancy Cantor, Ph.D., Chancellor Syracuse University Kenneth L. Davis, M.D., President Mt. Sinai Medical Center Gregory L. Eastwood, M.D., President SUNY Upstate Medical University David C. Hohn, M.D., President Roswell Park Cancer Institute Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D., President Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Richard M. Joel, J.D., President Yeshiva University Shirley Strum Kenny, Ph.D., President Stony Brook University John C. LaRosa, M.D., President SUNY Downstate Medical Center Paul Nurse, Ph.D., President Rockefeller University Hunter R. Rawlings III, Ph.D., President Cornell University Joel Seligman, J.D., President University of Rochester John E. Sexton, J.D., Ph.D., President New York University Albert J. Simone, Ph.D., President Rochester Institute of Technology John B. Simpson, Ph.D. President University at Buffalo Harold Varmus, M.D., President Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

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A copy of the white paper, titled “New York and Stem Cell Research: A Scientific, Therapeutic, Economic, and Policy Analysis,” can be downloaded from http://www.rochester.edu/news/pdfs/stemcellwhitepaper.pdf

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders in health care and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, nurses, dentists, and public health professionals at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center researchers are leading the discovery of novel therapies and advances to address a wide range of health conditions. http://www.cumc.columbia.edu

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