Stem Cell Announcement at Kessler 8/2

[nggun]

Governor Codey will be making a major stem cell announcement next Tuesday, August 2nd at Kessler Institute in West Orange. We really need to have stem cell advocates there! As part of the effort to keep momentum going on this issue, and to show that advocates are a force to be reckoned with, we need to have good representation at this event. The time is TBD but will be between the hours of 11 am and 2 pm. I will be calling you with the exact time and to follow-up on additional details. Please let everyone you know know about this very important (and positive) announcement regarding stem cell research and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey.

Kathleen Walters
Office of the Governor
609-777-2518

I got this e-mail today. I'll post the time when I get it.

[nggun]

Final Details of Stem Cell Press Conference at Kessler on Tuesday

Governor Codey will be making a positive announcement regarding funding of stem cell research in New Jersey

(*note: the information in this email is accurate and final regardless of what was sent previously)

Date: Tuesday, August 2nd

Time: 11:00 AM

Location: Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation - West Orange facility (in their conference center)
1199 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange
973-731-3600

Directions: Take the Garden State Parkway North oir South to Exit 145 and keep right onto ramp (I-280/NJ Turnpike/The Oranges/Newark/Harrison). Keep to the left and take the left ramp to get onto I-280. Take Exit 7 off of I-280
towards Pleasant Valley Way/Millburn/Verona). Keep to the left, and turn left onto Pleasant Valley Way/CR-636.

Please rsvp to Kathleen Walters at Kathleen.Walters@gov.state.nj.us (Kathleen.Walters@gov.state.nj.us) or 609-777-2518 if you plan to attend.

[carl]

Stem Cell Press Conference at Kessler on Tuesday
New York Times today (Sunday) said that the NJ Governor's scheduled announcement had been canceled. True?
Carl

[nggun]

Not that I know of Carl. I'll try to find out.

[Jim]

Not true, the meeting is still 11am at Kessler.
Anyone need directions, let me know.

[nggun]

Thanks Jim. I got this in a response to an e-mail. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to make it but I'll try.

No that is not true.. the press conference is definitely on for tomorrow. I'm not sure why someone might have thought it was cancelled - perhaps because of the difficulties encountered with stem cell in the US Senate (which is not the NJ State Senate), but this has no bearing on what Governor Codey is doing. Please let them know it is not cancelled, we would love for them to attend!

Thank you,
Kathleen Walters
Office of the Governor

[professirx]

Today's conference was a good one. Allot of people showed up, here's something to start with. I'm backed up on video projects,so the best I can do is show picts.

http://www.professirx.com/images/codey/005.jpg

[Jim]

X & Ja,


Chillin' with the Governor.



PRICELESS!

[professirx]

Such a wonderful event, very uplifting spirits up in there. Codey is a cool cat. I had a nice time

[professirx]

The Conference at Kessler, Aug 2, 05

Codey earmarks $10.5 million to support stem cell research
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
BY ANGELA STEWART
Star-Ledger Staff
In a clear signal he has not given up on stalled efforts to make New Jersey a leader in stem cell research, acting Gov. Richard Codey yesterday announced a $10.5 million allocation to advance the search for cures to debilitating diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Codey made the pledge at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, where the late Superman actor Christopher Reeve underwent rehabilitation following a 1995 horse back riding accident. Reeve, a quadriplegic who died last October at age 52, was an outspoken crusader for stem cell research.

"By investing in stem cell research, we are solidifying New Jersey's place at the forefront of medical technology," Codey said. "We are providing hope to people who suffer. And we are pursuing an opportunity to save lives."

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Of the $10.5 million announced yesterday, $5.5 million will go toward recruitment of leading scientists to staff a proposed research facility in New Brunswick. The money also will bankroll clinical trials, providing cutting-edge treatments for patients.

The remaining $5 million will fund a competitive grant program administered by the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology and its chairman, Donald Drakeman, head of the Princeton-based biotech firm Medarex. Grant applications will be available to New Jersey researchers this month, with awards made by the end of the year.

The announcement comes one day after Codey had hoped to break ground on a $150-million Stem Cell Institute in downtown New Brunswick, adjacent to the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. The event was shelved because political debate tied up the authorizing legislation, which remains stuck in the Assembly.

The whole area of embryonic stem cell research is controversial because it involves the destruction of human embryos. President George Bush has banned the use of federal funds for stem cell research except for cell lines created before 2001.

Those supporting the research say that embryos, taken from in-vitro fertilization clinics, would be discarded anyway. The cells, which can morph into any kind of specialized cell in the body, are believed to hold great promise to cure many diseases.

Codey's push for a state-funded program indirectly got a boost last week when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) announced that he supports federal funding of embryonic stem cell research -- in direct opposition to Bush's position. Bush yesterday refused to back away from a threat to veto increased federal funding for stem cell research.

Pro-life groups in New Jersey are displeased with Codey's announcement and his long-held desire to put a $230 million bond issue on stem cell grants before voters in November 2006.

"It's a gross mismanagement of New Jersey's taxpayers' hard-earned money," said Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life.

State Assemblyman Neal Cohen (D-Union), who sponsored the 2004 New Jersey law permitting this type of research, released a statement yesterday applauding Codey for strengthening his position.

Two state education leaders -- Rutgers University President Richard McCormick and UMDNJ President John Petillo -- were on hand to lend their support to Codey, as were several state legislators.

Richard Gaskin, 38, a quadriplegic who lives in Montclair, attended the announcement and thanked Codey: "I can't walk, I can't feel, I can't use my hands. I'm looking at it (stem cell research) as a tree of life," Gaskin said.

Juvenile diabetes sufferer Emily Greatrex, 15, of Mount Laurel said she wishes all the political debate would simply go away.

"Don't stand in the way of medical science helping people get well again," she pleaded.


Angela Stewart writes about health care. She may be reached by e-mail at astewart@starledger.com or by calling (973) 392-4178.

From NJ Star Ledger
http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1123049985302420.xml?starledger?nnj&coll=1

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