A compromise has been struck to protect the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine from major state budget cuts and to give the state a slice of the pie if the institute turns a profit on some of its scientific breakthroughs.
Instead of getting the $9 million a year Gov. Bev Perdue had recommended, the program would get $8 million under the budget that passed the state Senate on Thursday and is expected to clear the House this weekend.
The House had previously recommended taking all state funds from the institute after one last infusion of $7.5 million in the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1.
The new deal would allow for continued annual funding, and the institute would pay the state 5 percent of any royalties it makes on inventions the state helped fund. The institute has made significant strides in engineering body parts from human cells, and some state officials have felt for a while that the state — which has contributed millions to projects over the years — should share in its success.
Royalty payments would be capped at the total amount the state contributes, plus 4 percent annual interest. Payments would be made only on projects that arise from research funded by the state, and the institute would get to allocate the state's money to various projects, according to the budget language, which state Sen. Pete Brunstetter, R-Forsyth, said the institute proposed.
The budget also caps the state's contribution to any individual's salary at the institute at $120,000 starting July 2012.
Spokeswoman Karen Richardson said the institute is "very grateful" for the continued funding, which would help accelerate some projects. Richardson said the institute gets about 15 percent of its funding from the state.
Brunstetter and state Rep. Dale Folwell, another Forsyth Republican, said Thursday that they were happy with the deal.
"I'm in favor of win-win situations," Folwell said.
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