Arnold Schwarzenegger
California State Governor

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following statement following the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine’s (CIRM) governing board vote today to distribute $271 million to 12 institutions to build stem cell research facilities throughout California. As a result of additional financial commitments made by these institutions, the state funding leveraged a total of $1.1 billion in new resources.

“California has taken the lead on cutting edge medical and stem cell research, and with this fantastic additional investment it's clear others are taking notice. 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.”

In 2004, California voters approved Proposition 71 to devote $3 billion to stem cell research and create CIRM. To date, CIRM has approved research grants totaling almost $260 million. The California Supreme Court last year upheld a lower court's ruling which frees up the $3 billion in funding from legal challenges. While this court ruling was pending, Governor Schwarzenegger authorized loans of up to $150 million to keep California on the forefront of stem cell research.

California's investment in embryonic stem cell research is three times higher than the National Institutes of Health's funding. Compared internationally, China's Ministry of Science and Technology will put up to $132 million into research over the next five years and the British government put $72.7 million into public funds for stem cell research between 2004 and 2006.