Now is time to set up stem-cell oversight

By William R. Benedict
Wisconsin State Journal
Guest Column
October 19, 2007

This taxpayer attended the recent Madison Plan Commission’s public hearing on the proposed new Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery.

This project is scheduled to come before our City Council on November 6th. The chosen site on the southwest end of the UW campus has been described as “an unusual marriage of public and private dollars.”

The commingling of public, non-profit and proprietary interests can be rich soil for both a “nimble” and successful collaborative race for stem-based cures and for both jobs and medical therapies for all our citizens.

However without a transparent process and proper policies and safeguards in place multiple conflicts of interest could threaten both our public treasury and trust.

Wisconsin taxpayers and all who will benefit from cell-based medical therapies deserve more than good intentions regardless of how sincere and honorable they may be. Like safe and proven architecture and construction practices, safe and proven policy and intellectual property (IP) models now also exist.

These models are specifically designed to detect and prevent special interest conflicts by groups or individuals who are sworn to serve and protect the public interest. They help to ensure that taxpayers will recoup their investment either in reduced taxes or better and more affordable or accessible health care.

Rather than relying only on the assurance of a theoretical trickle down effect in new jobs, taxpayers and their government can be assured a public benefit from funding non-profit and for profit stem sell research and therapy enterprises.

Such policies also require that grantees must sell their therapies based on reasonable pricing. Taxpayers are becoming increasingly astute and now realize that giving out “free” public money, no matter how well intended, does not result in free or reasonably priced therapies.

These public interests protections ensure that those who come to the public trough or who participate in research or biotech enterprises --- medical professionals, entrepreneurs, and all other stakeholders --- must file disclosure forms with the State of Wisconsin that become a part of the public record. Only such transparency and careful tracking of the money can help all of the actors in this wonderful venture avoid the temptation to violate the public’s trust.

A year ago this writer called for a non-profit, nonpartisan and independent citizen stem cell oversight or watchdog group here in Wisconsin. To date Wisconsin citizens largely have remained silent. It’s now time for Wisconsin citizens to step up to the plate and help meet our responsibility to future generations with family members who suffer from cell-based diseases. (My blog, http://danecountyalmanac.blogspot.com/ will be up soon! Watch for it!)

I urgently call upon our state legislature to come forward now with a policy framework which fully addresses policy and IP safeguards, public benefit requirements, transparency and disclosure practices. Lets not let Wisconsin become a “Johnny come lately” on these public safeguards without which we will surely stumble.

With our governor’s clear goal of capturing one-tenth of the stem-cell market for research and medical therapies by 2015, a new research center about to rise, and heaps of community good will and support we must not miss this opportunity for all Wisconsin citizens to succeed.