  Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts  has proposed a plan for committing $1-billion over the next decade to  life-sciences research, including the creation of a stem-cell bank, in an  effort to make the state a global leader in biotechnology.

The plan, outlined during a speech at  the BIO 2007 convention held at Boston, includes a 10-year, $1 billion  investment package to ensure the state’s ability to support life sciences  progress “from the idea stage through the production stage.”

The initiative calls for the creation  of a stem-cell bank that will serve a centralized repository of stem-cell lines  for public and private research. Boston University, Brigham and Women’s,  Children’s Hospital, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of  Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners HealthCare, and the  University of Massachusetts have already agreed to participate in the bank when  it is completed. 

Key to the Governor’s plan is new  legislation to strengthen the Massachusetts Life Science Center and charge it  with the execution of a life sciences mission focused on science and economic  development, strategic investments at critical stages of the development cycle,  and collaboration with the private sector to create innovation infrastructure  critical to both researchers and companies. 

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Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts has proposed a plan for committing $1-billion over the next decade to life-sciences research, including the creation of a stem-cell bank, in an effort to make the state a global leader in biotechnology.