Stem-Cell Institute Wins Court Case

In a quick verdict, a state appeals court ruled financing for a nonprofit stem-cell institute in California did not violate the state constitution, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Roger Klein, chairman of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, says he believes the ruling will finally allow the institute to make grants. The institute approved 72 grants totaling $45-million in early February, but litigation held up distribution.

The California institute—a 10-year, $3-billion effort that voters approved in 2004—is the largest stem-cell program in the United States. It was designed to circumvent a federal spending ban on most types of research with embryonic stem cells, research that often destroys embryos.

Three nonprofit plaintiffs in the case said they might appeal to the state supreme court, but Mr. Klein said he hopes that court will refuse to hear the appeal.

Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s coverage of stem cells.

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