New York Magazine raises the very real possibility that the best and brightest medical researchers in New York City will soon leave for California in order to pursue lavishly-funded stem-cell research projects. The stimulus, of course, was the passage by California voters this November of Proposition 71, the "celebrated and controversial ballot measure that could make the state a powerhouse in human embryonic stem-cell research." With Proposition 71, California is essentially "setting up its own version of NIH, offering $3 billion over ten years in funds that the Bush administration has refused to provide. In an unmistakable rebuke of Washington, California is gambling on stem-cell research becoming the biggest, most profitable medical advancement of our age—bigger than the discovery of DNA, bigger than the sequencing of the genome. California’s scientists will be untethered in their research, while New Yorkers... must either rely on compromised supplies of NIH-approved stem-cell lines or pass the hat for private donations."

That's not all -- in an extreme "doomsday scenario," New York hospitals will "lose their main profit centers and become like other urban hospitals -- catering mainly to the uninsured and subsisting on shoestring budgets."

It doesn't have to happen that way, of course, but the magazine piece suggests that it will -- unless Governor Pataki and legislators in Albany jump into the mix. Until then, NYC researchers will hunt for "a back door" to participate in the California Gold Rush (i.e. partnering with West Coast institutions in cross-country collaborations) or track down private dollars to fund expensive new research initiatives.

The article is an intriguing read since it puts faces, names and figures to the stem-cell research debate. New York has made tentative strides towards becoming a biotech powerhouse -- but nothing like California. Disaffected scientists and medical researchers interviewed for the article make the point again and again (and again) that "there is no recognition that science and technology is any value at any level to New York City." Governor Pataki treats the issue like a "contagious disease." That's despite the fact that the city is home to a handful of world-class medical institutions and a treasure trove of biotech talent. After all, as long as New York has finance, media and fashion, who really cares about biotech? Maybe the collapse of the Silicon Alley dream has convinced too many people that New York is not exactly the place to incubate new tech companies. There's a great anecdote in the article about Mayor Bloomberg cold-calling the CEO of Novartis and finding out, matter-of-factly, that the company never even considered New York for a possible office.

So... is New York a biotech town or not?