California Stem Cell Research Faces Cash Crunch, Bond Initiative

California’s taxpayer-funded stem cell research agency is down to its last millions out of $2.9 billion, and will appeal to the states’ voters next year to keep it afloat. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which created an ecosystem and funding source for early-stage stem cell research, will begin gathering signatures in January for a November bond initiative to fund developing treatments that may be years away from reaching patients.

Leader of the Pack: After President George W. Bush restricted federal funding for stem cell research, California became the leading state in researching regenerative medicine, the biomedical science of replacing ...