Stem-cell research called vital to area bioscience industry

By Steve Bell

Kansas City, MO – The Missouri-Kansas area has a healthy biosciences industry. Kansas City institutions like the Kauffman and Kansas City Life Sciences Institutes provide significant advantages to biotech entrepreneurs. The largest and most cherished, of course, is the Stowers Institute, which opposes a Missouri bill to criminalize human cloning. The bill sponsor admits the law would also ban stem-cell research. Area entrepreneurs in the biosciences say the bill would not only handicap Stowers and the universities, but would limit future economic growth. A prominent California research leader agrees.