Mass. finalizing life science bill

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick continues to meet with academic researchers, biotech leaders, and clinicians to finalize the language of a new $1.25 billion biomedical funding bill, to be filed later this month.It remains unclear how the governor will incorporate the opinions of the 100-plus stakeholders who provided input on the bill at a recent meeting, but in general, the proposal appears strong, said Kevin Casey, senior director of federal and state relations at Harvard University. The bill is "very wise, very smart and very well crafted for Massachusetts," Casey said.The new bill will not address current restrictions on stem cell research put in place in 2005, said Kofi Jones, spokesperson for the secretary of housing and economic development, which co-hosted the meeting. That legislation contains some last-minute wording inserted by then-Governor Mitt Romney that prohibits the creation of embryos for research. The language of the 2005 bill is unclear...