California Institute Grants $271 Million For Stem Cell Research

San Jose, CA (AHN) - California's stem cell agency on Wednesday awarded nearly $271 million in grants to 12 academic and nonprofit institutions to build stem cell laboratories statewide. Stanford University received the highest grant of $43.6 million.

The other three major recipients of the grants by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) are the University of California in Irvine (UCI), the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).

The institutions will use the grants to build research facilities throughout the state and to promote research on human embryonic stem cells.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement, "This will go a long way toward medical research that could save lives and improve them for people with chronic diseases."

"But also, this kind of public-private investment in a growing jobs sector is exactly the kind of good news our economy needs right now," he added.

The money, coupled with additional money from the recipients and their donors, will generate more than $1.1 billion to build the facilities and cover other related costs.

By passing Proposition 71 in 2004, voters authorized the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to spend up to $3 billion over 10 years. The agency's primary mission is to study human embryonic stem cells.

Since April 2006, the stem cell agency has awarded $530 million in grants to California institutions.