Acting Gov. Codey unveils Rutgers study on economic benefits of stem cell research initiative
Archived article from Oct 24, 2005
By Steve Manas
New Jersey stands to benefit from an estimated $1.4 billion in new economic activity, approximately 20,000 new jobs and $71.9 million in new state revenue from taxes and royalties over the next 20 years as a result of the state’s proposed stem cell research initiative.
Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey announced those findings from “The Economic Benefits of the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Initiative,” a study by University Professor Joseph J. Seneca of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, as the centerpiece of a news conference earlier this month at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in Saddle Brook.
Codey’s proposed $380 million initiative includes $150 million in unused bond capacity to construct a world-class Stem Cell Institute and a $230 million bond referendum to provide a long-term and steady funding source for stem cell research grants. The new institute is to be jointly administered by Rutgers and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
About 75 doctors, patients and staff from the Kessler Institute attended the event. Stem cell research supporters, including state Sen. Joseph Coniglio, Assemblymen Neil Cohen and Robert Gordon, Assemblywoman Joan Voss and Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney also attended the event, hosted by Dr. Bruce Gans, the institute’s chief medical officer.
“The analysis is complex and dependent on many factors,” Seneca said. “The largest uncertainty is whether the current promise of stem cell research will, in time, yield effective therapies.” The economist also stressed that conservative assumptions were used throughout the report in order to “not overstate” the potential benefits of the initiative.
Seneca’s analysis estimated both benefits directly attributable to the initiative – including the statistics cited by the governor for the report’s 2006-2025 time frame – and a broader collection of potential stem cell therapy benefits to the state. These include reductions in health care costs, savings in work time lost and decreases in premature deaths, which could total close to $73 billion from 2016 to 2025. “These benefits will accrue independent of the location of the research that develops those therapies,” Seneca said.
For the study, Seneca analyzed six health conditions – diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, heart attack, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease – likely to benefit from stem cell therapies; the diseases afflict an estimated 363,000 New Jerseyans. Seneca estimated that state health care costs will be reduced by $11.3 billion by implementing effective stem cell therapies, including a $1.7 billion savings to the state budget. He also estimated that in the absence of improved treatments, more than 10.5 million workdays in New Jersey will be lost due to the six health conditions during the 10-year period. Stem cell therapies could effect a savings of $813 million to the state economy from reductions in workdays lost, he noted.
To read the complete report, visit policy.rutgers.edu/stemcell.pdf.
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