Governor Doyle: Statement of Governor Doyle on Wisconsin’s Selection as Home to National Stem Cell Bank

Contact:
Anne Lupardus, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162

Wisconsin’s WiCell has been selected as the nation’s first and only National Stem Cell Bank (NSCB) by the National Institutes of Health. With this designation, WiCell will receive $16 million over the next four years to establish the NSCB that will serve the research community by performing comprehensive characterization of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines and distributing these cell lines to investigators. In addition, the NSCB will provide support for the research community by providing technical assistance and training in state-of-the-art methods for hESC culture and testing, according to WiCell’s technical proposal filed with the NIH.

Governor Jim Doyle made the following statement on the decision:

“Today’s announcement, that Wisconsin will now be home to the nation’s first National Stem Cell Bank, is evidence that we are not just competing in the biomedical and health technology fields, but we are excelling.

“From our great scientists and research facilities, to the WiCell Institute and the new National Stem Cell Bank that it’s been charged with creating, continued development of our booming biotechnology industry is right in line with my vision for a high-end economy in Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s universities, research institutions, and our biotechnology industry are engaged in world leading and ground breaking research that may one day conquer our oldest and deadliest diseases.

“It’s simple: by working together we’re strengthening our ability to create tomorrow’s good paying jobs and helping to keep Wisconsin competing at the high end. The investments we’re making will help not only Madison and Milwaukee, but our entire state. We are competing as a state and as a region to capture the growing biotechnology industry. So every success we have – such as the one we’re celebrating here today – is a victory for all of Wisconsin.”