MADISON, Wis. -- Gov. Jim Doyle said that access to scientists working with stem cells and proximity to the WiCell Research Institute attracted a Norwegian biotechnology company to locate in Madison.

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The governor's office said that CellCura Inc. is the fourth stem-cell company to start or locate in Wisconsin the past two years.

Doyle held a news conference on Friday to announce the company's plans to locate an office at University Research Park.

"I think we are really reaching the point where Wisconsin is very much on the map," Doyle said.

Dag Dvergsten, president of the Norwegian company, said that typically European firms would look to anchor a new business on the East or West coasts, but he said that when it comes to stem cells, Madison is the world's capital.

CellCura will join with Madison stem-cell experts to launch products designed to bolster the infrastructure of the growing industry.

"This decision is solely based on the expertise, the competence and the knowledge that is in this state, this particular town," Dvergsten said.

CellCura has been working closely with scientists from the WiCell Research Institute in Madison for the last several months.

Wisconsin is the birthplace of stem-cell research. University of Wisconsin researcher James Thomson first isolated embryonic stem cells in 1998.

Doyle made his support of embryonic stem-cell research a key component of his successful re-election bid last month.

"Governor Doyle was very visible, and also the stem cell issue was an important issue in the last election and it shows the rest of the world that what's happening here has impact," Dvergsten.

Experts predict that, over the next decade, stem cells will grow into a $10 billion industry with 100,000 high-end jobs. Doyle said he wants Wisconsin to capture 10 percent of the stem-cell research market by 2015.

"The next few years are going to be critical. We've only begun to tap the vast potential of these discoveries. The national stem cell market is growing, and it's becoming fiercely competitive," Doyle said.

CellCura will launch Madison operations with a handful of employees, but Dvergsten said he expects employment to increase as product lines are introduced.

About 80 University of Wisconsin scientists are conducting a variety of embryonic stem cell studies, mostly using the five cell lines developed by Thomson and patented by the school's research arm, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

WiCell is a subsidiary of WARF, which does stem-cell research and education and is the home of the National Stem Cell Bank.