The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a quasi-public agency created last year, yesterday approved some $8.2 million in funding for a stem cell bank and registry to be opened at the the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The agency also approved $12 in funding for research grants. The move is part of an effort to kick-start the state’s campaign to beef up its life sciences industry ahead of a hearing on Governor Deval Patrick’s proposed $1 billion life sciences initiative, which is scheduled for next week. Patrick’s team had originally hoped to get that legislation passed back in June.
