Gov. Doyle: Announces state has filed motion to join stem cell funding amicus brief

Contact: Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today announced the state has filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking permission to join an amicus brief in Sherley v. Sebelius, a legal case challenging the National Institutes of Health’s embryonic stem cell research guidelines. Governor Doyle has pledged to assist the U.S. Department of Justice in its efforts to uphold the guidelines and secure federal funding for stem cell researchers in Wisconsin and across the nation.

“Families around the world are depending on the stem cell research conducted in Wisconsin to provide life saving medical breakthroughs,” Governor Doyle said. “Today the state is moving forward to join as a friend of the court in efforts to secure federal funding and support stem cell businesses and researchers in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is home to more than 600 bioscience companies, 11 stem cell companies and 34,000 jobs in the bioscience industry, leading the way toward life-changing medical research.”

The state is seeking permission to join the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) in filing an amicus brief. The friend of the court brief would support the federal government’s efforts to continue funding ground-breaking scientific research using embryonic stem cells under the clear, ethically sound guidelines issued by the National Institutes of Health last year.

On September 9, Governor Doyle sent a letter to Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation urging quick action by Congress to definitively allow for the federal funding of stem cell research. View the letter at: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=20209.

Since taking office, Governor Doyle has vastly expanded Wisconsin’s investment in stem cell research. In addition to being home to world renowned stem cell companies that leverage millions of dollars in investment, Wisconsin is home to The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, The UW-Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, The Waisman Center, The Medical College of Wisconsin, The Blood Center of Wisconsin, WiCell and others.

In 2008, Governor Doyle received the Genetics Policy Institute’s National Leadership Award in recognition of his support of stem cell research and his strategic goal to invest $750 million in biotechnology and stem cell research.