Jul 19, 2007 5:42 pm US/Eastern
Patrick Urges Creation of Stem Cell Bank
by Ron Sanders
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Gov. Deval Patrick is hoping to make a $1 billion investment in the state's biotech industry.
The governor filed a bill Thursday to create the world's largest stem cell bank for research aimed at curing life-threatening diseases.
Nobel Prize-winning researcher Craig Mello of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester joined Patrick at the State House to urge prompt passage of the life-sciences bill.
"It's extremely important that we do this immediately," Mello said. "You know, California's already interested in this."
"The whole world wants what we've got," Patrick added.
And, the governor said, "We play to win."
Patrick's bill calls for a 10-year investment of $1 billion dollars in life sciences, including $500 million to create the Massachusetts stem cell bank.
"(It) will be the largest repository of stem cells in the world," he said.
The governor also plans to build on the work at UMass Medical School that won Mello and fellow researcher Andrew Fire of Maryland the Nobel Prize by creating an RNA-interference center.
"With your support, truly great discoveries will be made in this state," Mello told a joint session of the Legislature.
"These are great, job-creating industries that produce useful, literally life-saving technology for mankind."
Amy DeSilva of dartmouth, who sang the national anthem at the joint session, has CMT. a neurological condition. She could benefit from Mello's research.
"I thought it was really great that somebody was going out there and trying to help people," DeSilva said.
House Speaker Sal DiMasi (D-East Boston) put out a written statement calling the governor's plan ambitious, saying "we must always balance affordability with future economic growth."
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