Study: Stem cell research would help Michigan
BY MEGHA SATYANARAYANA • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • September 16, 2008



Embryonic stem cell research could help hundreds of thousands of people in Michigan, save millions per year in health care costs, and create jobs in the state's growing biotech economy, according to a new study from the public policy group Michigan Prospect.

The report comes as voters consider a constitutional amendment that would loosen laws against embryonic stem cell research in Michigan. Proposition 2 on the November ballot would allow families to donate leftover embryos from fertility treatments to science, and researchers could create embryonic stem cell cultures to study disease. Both are illegal, and the latter carries a 10-year, $10-million penalty. Michigan has some of the strictest embryonic stem cell laws in the country.
The study, which Michigan Prospect commissioned before the ballot initiative, looked at seven common illnesses that embryonic stem cells could potentially treat: Type I diabetes, Parkinson's disease, acute heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injury and Lou Gehrig's disease.

More than 770,000 people in Michigan had those illnesses in 2006, said lead author Allen Goodman, Wayne State University economics professor. Advances derived from the research could shave an estimated $80 million off the $8-billion annual treatment costs, he said.

Embryonic stem cells continuously divide in culture; that makes them valuable for studying human disease.

"Because we are one of five states, the largest of five states that make this research difficult, 1% is a conservative estimate," he said. "It's a small, but positive impact, here in Michigan."

The study is based on research that would be funded privately or through institutional funds. Goodman said if the state invested in the research, as is done in New Jersey and California, the potential savings would be higher.

Treatments from the research also could ease the burden on Medicaid by nearly $40 million per year, he said. In 2004, the state spent $7.7 billion on the program.

Michigan's bio-industry fuels 44,298 jobs, according to the federal government's North American Industry Classification System.

Relaxed restrictions on embryonic stem cell research would create about 443 well-paying jobs, Goodman said, and 354 jobs in other sectors as a result.

Researchers have said Michigan's restrictions make it difficult to attract top biomedical talent.

"An environment that forbids you to do something sends you away," said Jim Eliason, an adult stem cell researcher at WSU and a consultant to the study.

The study was funded by foundations, unions, and education groups, including Michigan Citizens for Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Cures, which predates the stem cell ballot initiative.

Executive Director Marcia Baum said the organization had no control over the outcome.

Contact MEGHA SATYANARAYANA at 313-223-4544 or megha@freepress.com.

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