California voters approve stem cell bond, sending billions for medical research

California voters have approved the passage of $5.5 billion in bonds for stem cell research.

Proposition 14 won approval, with 51% of the vote so far, according to the Associated Press.

The ballot measure issues $5.5 billion in general obligation bond funding to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, created in 2004 when voters approved Proposition 71.

The Yes on Proposition 14 campaign argued that the funding would be used to pursue treatments and cures for chronic diseases and conditions including cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes.

They pointed to the past successes of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, including getting nine treatments fast-tracked for approval by the Food and Drug Administration to help patients with cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, blindness, spinal cord injuries and immuno-deficiencies.

The bond was able to pass thanks to “a historic coalition of patient advocacy groups and medical societies,” said Bob Klein, who chaired the Yes on Prop. 14 campaign.

Klein said that that the campaign had limited funding, and faced a giant challenge in reaching out to voters.

“We had a big obstacle because we had to communicate to voters not only the potential to change the nature of treatments ... but we also had to inform voters of how the state could afford this,” he said.

To that end, the campaign was able to enlist the support of not only patient advocacy groups and medical societies, but also several chambers of commerce, to reach out to their constituents and get their support.

“It was a citizen’s initiative in the truest sense,” he said.

The campaign said that Proposition 14 will generate more than $1 billion in tax revenue, tens of billions in economic stimulus and more than 100,000 jobs.

Klein said that California has to lead the way because the federal government’s approach to stem cell research has been inadequate.

“It is very important for California to understand that just like it was in 2004, in 2020 we’re facing a situation where in the U.S. Senate, there is a non-medical religious bias that is blocking funding at the federal level for clinical trials and attempting to block access to further research on human embryonic stem cells and other stem cell types that are critical to developing new therapies,” he said.