Gov. Jim Doyle vowed Wednesday to veto any legislation banning research cloning, earning the praise of university research scientists.
Bills introduced into the state Legislature earlier this year advocate a ban on human cloning, including therapeutic or research cloning. Doyle said those bills would hamper the state's economic growth and deprive researchers of the opportunity to save lives.
\I guarantee you those bills will be vetoed,"" he said.
The governor announced this at a meeting of the Wisconsin Biotechnology Association. He was joined by UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Managing Director Carl Gulbrandsen.
""We depend on you to keep legislation from passing that would outlaw [stem cell] research,"" Gulbrandsen told Doyle.
Doyle's announcement drew a round of applause from the association of scientists. Professor Hector DeLuca said he appreciated Doyle's conviction.
""[He showed us] he'll stand against those people who want to kill stem cell research and interfere with research [in general],"" he said.
Apart from stem cell research, the governor and other speakers focused on goals for the future of the biotech industry, such as attracting a major pharmaceutical company to Wisconsin. They highlighted the university's impact on biotechnology, both from WARF research and from educating future scientists.
""We need to work with universities to establish the workforce and to develop and transfer technology,"" Doyle said.
To contribute to that aim, Gulbrandsen announced WARF's goal this year is to focus on Wisconsin companies and to make university technology available to them.
Doyle said he appreciated that commitment. He told the story of a Wisconsin researcher he met recently who developed a kidney bean whose skin does not break when it sits out on a salad bar. That seemingly simple development has made the researcher rich, Doyle said.
Similar inventions would fuel the economy, DeLuca said. DeLuca is WARF's most prolific and profitable inventor, with more than 100 patents to his name.
Gulbrandsen and others said DeLuca's research is a shining example of successfully marketed biotechnology. For example, his lab recently developed a synthetic compound that fosters bone growth and then partnered with Pfizer to market it.
DeLuca pointed out that agricultural research could also have a big impact in Wisconsin. For example, researchers have developed a Vitamin E technology that helps animals process phosphorous in their food more easily, reducing phosphorous in their waste and thus reducing phosphorous runoff into rivers.
