Candidates Reportedly On Line for CIRM Chief Scientific Officer Slot

The California stem cell agency reports that “several highly respected candidates” have approached the agency to fill the vacancy created when Marie Csete resigned as chief scientific officer.

In response to a query, Don Gibbons, chief communications officer for CIRM, said last week that the scientists have come forward since Csete disclosed that she was leaving.

Gibbons also said that no decision has been made on whether to hire a search firm to assist in finding a replacement.

CIRM has sometimes been slow in finding top-level executives, particularly for the president’s slot. However, the salary for the chief scientific officer might help speed the process. The top of the range is $332,000 annually. Csete made $310,000.

Applicants should take note that CIRM is not suffering the same financial woes as the rest of California state government because of the nature of the agency’s protected funding. Sphere: Related Content

CIRM Directors and Blogging

It is probably too early to call it a trend, but a couple members of the board of the $3 billion California stem cell agency have joined the world of bloggers in the past few weeks.

The first was Jeff Sheehy, a communications manager at UC San Francisco, who filed an item on the California Stem Cell Report last month. His dealt with recommendations for reforms in CIRM’s structure.

This week Sherry Lansing, the former head of a Hollywood film studio and a UC regent, filed an item for the Huffington Post. It dealt with finding cures for cancer, reflecting her work as head of a nonprofit that fights cancer.

Welcome to both and to any other board members who feel so moved. Sphere: Related Content

CIRM's Troubled Grant Management System: A $1 Billion Oversight Matter

The California stem cell agency is likely to have approved $1 billion in grants by the end of this year, but its grants management system appears to be in disarray, which may be something of an understatement.

CIRM has never publicly revealed the full nature of the problems, which date at least back to 2006. However, in its budget presentation last month, the agency identified oversight of grants as an area of “risk.”

In January, the California State Auditor reported that CIRM was not in compliance with the auditor’s two-year-old recommendations for implementation of a comprehensive grants management system. As the result of a months-long study in 2006, the auditor said that a system was needed to provide accountability and assess how well CIRM was meeting its strategic goals.

CIRM plans to spend at least $575,000 and likely more this year to help fix its problems. CIRM did not provide comparable figures for last year.

It is not clear how much has been spent in the last two years since directors were told that the “complete cost” of a solution from Grantium would be $757,000. The Grantium software now appears to have been tossed out.

CIRM’s budget for this year allots $335,000 for software, training and development connected to the grant management system. Another $240,000 is slated for Kutir Corp. of Newark, Ca., for information technology services. Kutir had a $200,000 contract during the last fiscal year.

This year’s contract with Kutir – size unspecified -- comes before the CIRM directors Governance Subcommittee on July 21 at a teleconference meeting with locations around California.

The June staff's budget commentary on the grants management system said,

“CIRM’s ability to track and report on its grant research portfolio
needs improvement.

“There is a critical need to have a robust electronic grants management system for managing grants, reporting outcomes, monitoring finances, complying with regulations and meeting other requirements as they arise. CIRM had been testing a grants management program that is not able to meet all if its needs. CIRM has revised its approach and has purchased, or is investigating, components of a grant management system that will be flexible enough to handle its evolving programs and processes. Funds for this process are included in this budget. In the long run it is expected that this new approach will be less costly to CIRM than the previous approach."

During next week's look at the Kutir contract, one would hope that there would be a full discussion of past costs connected to the Grantium system, the nature of the problems, the plan to resolve the issues and its likely cost.

Locations where the public can take part can be found in San Francisco (2), Los Angeles (2), La Jolla, Sacramento, Irvine and Stanford. Specific addresses are on the agenda. Sphere: Related Content

CIRM Made Last Minute Bid to Delay Hoover Report

The California stem cell agency made a last-ditch effort to stall release of the results of an investigation into the agency by California’s good government commission despite the fact it had been underway for seven months

The attempt came in the form of a letter signed by four members of the CIRM board of directors, including Chairman Robert Klein, and its president, Alan Trounson. One anonymous critic suggested the letter was a violation of the state open meeting laws because “it was prepared and approved outside any public process” and involved the four board members.

In response to a query from the California Stem Cell Report, James Harrison of Remcho, Johansen & Purcell of San Leandro, Ca, CIRM’s outside counsel, said,

“The letter was not intended to be a statement on behalf of the Board with
respect to the draft proposals. Rather, it was intended to reflect, and
did reflect, only the views of the individuals who signed it. The Board
has not taken any action with respect to the Little Hoover Commission
report.”

The June 8 letter was directed to the Little Hoover Commission, which last month recommended an overhaul of the operations of the California stem cell agency. The commission said changes were needed in CIRM's structure because it is "is not adequate to protect taxpayers’ interests or serve its own ambitious goals."

The letter urged the commission to postpone consideration of the draft recommendations “to allow us time to engage in a meaningful dialogue.” The Hoover Commission began its investigation last November. CIRM knew months earlier that the inquiry would be forthcoming. The commission released its report on June 26.

In addition to Klein and Trounson, Art Torres and Duane Roth, co-vice chairmen of the agency, and Sherry Lansing, chair of the CIRM board’s Goverance Subcommittee signed the letter.

Our comment: It is not uncommon for enterprises under public fire to engage in dilatory tactics. The reasoning is that prolonging an inquiry weakens it, exhausts the investigators and could likely be outdated by the time it is concluded.

Below is the full text of Harrison’s response concerning the legality of the process leading to the June 8 letter. Sphere: Related Content

Harrison Response on June 8 Letter

We asked James Harrison of Remcho, Johansen & Purcell of San Leandro, Ca., outside counsel for CIRM, for his opinion on whether the process leading to the June 8 letter to the Little Hoover Commission violated the state’s open meeting laws. Here is the text of his response.

“In fact, the letter states that the authors would like to thank the Little Hoover Commission, on behalf of the Board, for the invitation to meet with LHC staff. The letter was not intended to be a statement on behalf of the Board with respect to the draft proposals. Rather, it was intended to reflect, and did reflect, only the views of the individuals who signed it. The Board has not taken any action with respect to the Little Hoover Commission report. As you know, the Legislative Subcommittee has scheduled a meeting to discuss the report and to consider the views of other Board members. I hope this clarifies the matter.”

Sphere: Related Content

‘Boiling Blood,’ Biotech and Rainmaking

The headline in the Wall Street Journal this morning read “Blood Boils Over Bill to Protect Biotech Drugs.”

And on Friday, the story on Politico.com was about a “king of K Street” in Washington, D.C., the man who is the $240,000 federal lobbyist for the California stem cell agency.

Both stories are related to the agency’s lobbying efforts in Congress on behalf of an industry-backed bill to stall competition from generic companies that may seek to duplicate biotech drugs.

The WSJ story indirectly makes it clear how picayune is the CIRM lobbying effort. The bill endorsed by the agency is not even mentioned. The players are many and powerful. The stage is vast, encompassing the Obama administration’s sweeping health plan effort.

Reporter Alicia Mundy focused on a proposal by Sen. Ted Kennedy that would give biotech firms 13.5 years of protection from generic competition on what the WSJ called “lucrative” drugs. That is about twice as long as proposed by President Obama, who is wrapping the IP legislation into his health care package.

Mundy reported that Kennedy’s effort “may prevail because it would help keep the pharmaceutical industry on board with the (Obama) overhaul, said industry lobbyists and Senate staffers.”

Also involved in this is Tony Podesta, an accomplished rainmaker and CIRM’s Washington lobbyist(the agency has another lobbyist in Sacramento). Chris Frates of Politico.com wrote that “in the age of Obama, it’s a particularly good time to be named Podesta.”

Frates recounted the Podesta family ties to Obama, including brother John Podesta’s co-chairmanship of the president’s transition team.

Frates said Tony Podesta is active in campaign fund-raising, hosting a recent event that funneled $500,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Some CIRM directors and others have questioned the agency’s lobbying effort as largely meaningless given the vast issues in play in Washington. However, $240,000 would not be meaningless to a stem cell researcher in California looking for help to push science along to finding a cure for one of the array of ailments many believe could be alleviated through stem cell therapy.

Assuming that protecting the biotech industry from generic competition is the correct position for a California state agency, the question remains: What do the people of California get out of the expenditure of $240,000, which does not even buy a bleacher seat in the Capitol? And that amount does not count the additional staff and directors time, travel and expenses. Does any of it change the outcome?

CIRM directors will receive a briefing on Thursday on the legislation at a teleconference meeting of their Legislative Subcommittee. The public can participate in session at locations in San Francisco, Elk Grove, Healdsburg, La Jolla (2), Irvine and Palo Alto. Specific addresses can be found on the agenda.

(Editor’s note: The WSJ article is only available to online subscribers. If you would like a copy, please email djensen@californiastemcellreport.com.) Sphere: Related Content

CIRM on Lawsuit and Hoover

We want to call attention to a comment posted yesterday by the California stem cell agency concerning its reaction to the Little Hoover Commission report. Amy Adams, CIRM’s communication manager, filed the comment on the “Klein Warns Stem Cell Directors” item that went up July 10.

She says that CIRM is not threatening a lawsuit in connection with legislative enactment of the Hoover recommendations.

We have posted a response to her comments, which can be found either through the “recent comments” column to the left or at the end of the “Klein Warns” item. Her comments can be found there as well. Sphere: Related Content

Trotter: Memories, Water and Life

Last night, I stumbled across a photographer, John Trotter, who was almost beaten to death in the late 90s while on assignment for our old paper, The Sacramento Bee.

The attack left Trotter unable to walk and with major brain injuries. But today he has regained his career and has shot impressive and evocative photos, ranging from Mexican babies in the dry Southwest to men and women struggling to recover their lives after suffering injuries or disease.

It was an arduous journey for John as well. He says he not only had to learn how to walk again but “re-learn how to remember.”

Our chance meeting came in Sacramento, where we are visiting. He was in the city for an exhibit at the Viewpoint Gallery of some of his work, a series of photos called “The Burden of Memory.” They were taken at the brain injury clinic where Trotter did much of his rehab.

I asked him about a project he was working on that was not on display but mentioned in some biographical notes at the show. It is called “No Agua, No Vida” (No Water, No Life) and deals with the Colorado River in a far-flung way.

The Colorado River is the main artery for much of the American Southwest, including Southern California. It has been dammed and diverted over the years and now is only a relative trickle when it enters Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. Mexico is not happy about that. In the U.S., states battle over the rights to the river water, much of which flows 242 miles across the desert to quench the thirst of Los Angeles.

It also has turned the Imperial Valley, a scorching-hot bit of sandy desolation, into a sometimes thriving industrial-agricultural community where I grew up. In fact, my first paid assignment as a reporter involved coverage of a campaign there to secede from California because of Colorado River water issues.

Trotter’s photos capture the desolation of the desert and dramatically depict how the water is being used and its impact on the lives of many.

You can see and purchase his photos on his Web site. In addition to the Viewpoint show, Trotter’s work is scheduled to be on display beginning Sept. 19 at the Mumm Fine Art Photography Galley in Napa, Ca. Sphere: Related Content

Klein Warns Stem Cell Directors on CIRM Reform Proposal

Recommendations for sweeping changes in the $3 billion California stem cell agency come before its directors next Thursday, although the agency's chairman has warned that support of some of the proposals would violate the directors' oath of office.

In an email to directors June 30, Robert Klein said five of the recommendations by the Little Hoover Commission, the state's good government agency, would be unconstitutional if enacted through the normal legislative process.

Klein wrote,

"As members of the board, we took an oath to uphold Prop. 71 and could not support these changes."

CIRM Vice Chairman Art Torres, who co-authored the memo, scheduled a meeting July 16 of the directors' Legislative Subcommittee to discuss the Hoover report. The board has not taken an official position on the study, but CIRM issued a press release last month that threatened a lawsuit should the legislature and the governor enact many of the recommendations without a vote of the people.

In response to a question from the California Stem Cell Report, Stuart Drown, executive director of the Little Hoover Commission, said neither he nor his predecessor could recall a time when a state agency had threatened a lawsuit in connection with Hoover recommendations.

The five purportedly unconstitutional recommendations would:

• Reduce the size of the unwieldy board from 29 to 15
• Reduce board member terms to four years following expiration of current members' terms, which run from six to eight years
• Eliminate the current dual CEO structure that has proved divisive in the past
• Allow the board to select its own chairman and vice chairman instead of having to accept nominations from state politicians
• Give the governor authority to appoint 11 of the reconstituted board's 15 members. (Presumably Klein would also oppose as unconstitutional a plan to require that four independent persons be placed on the board, although he did not mention it in his June 30 email. The board is currently dominated by representatives of institutions that receive grants.)

In an interview earlier this week at CIRM headquarters, Torres, newly appointed chairman of the Legislative Subcommittee, declined to discuss the specific recommendations. He said he wanted to hear first from members of the CIRM board. He said whatever action the subcommittee takes would go before the full board, presumably in August.

Klein's contention that support of changes would violate directors' oath of office is based on two memos from attorneys. One came from the board's outside counsel. The other came from a Sacramento law firm hired by Klein's private stem cell lobbying group. That firm also has a $50,000 annual lobbying contract with CIRM.

The Hoover Commission took note of the memos from the two law firms, but said the question remains legally open.

Yesterday, Daniel Hancock, former president of Shapell Industries and chairman of the Little Hoover Commission, wrote an op-ed piece in The Sacramento Bee defending the recommendations.

He said,

"As CIRM exits its startup phase, it is unclear whether the founding leaders on the governing board can objectively evaluate the best course for CIRM's future, including the crucial question of whether it should exist beyond its initially intended 10 years. Given that the longer-than-normal terms on the governing board limit turnover, current board members – whose organizations have received 80 percent of the research and facilities grants – may lack the independent perspective required to determine when CIRM's contributions to stem cell science have peaked."

Hancock, however, also said the report is designed to "start discussion."

He cited an article by one CIRM director, published on the California Stem Cell Report, as "encouraging." Jeff Sheehy wrote that he would like the Hoover study to be perceived as "the beginning of a dialogue about governance structures that results in the strengthening and institutionalization of CIRM and sets it on a path toward a long and fruitful existence."

The Hoover Commission report has received little attention in the mainstream media, which has increasingly limited resources because of the news industry's financial problems. But Alex Philippidis of BioRegion News wrote a lengthy piece on the subject on Tuesday.

He quoted Don Gibbons, chief communications officer for CIRM, as saying that changes proposed by Hoover Commission could "waste" time. Philippidis wrote,

"He(Gibbons) cited the 2007 reorganization of California's Department of Public Health, which at least one local news report blamed for a delay in payments to area shelters for victims of domestic violence."

Philippidis reported that Gibbons said a court challenge to the Hoover proposals "would not come from the agency, but most likely from a board member set to lose his or her seat, or patient advocates who have defended CIRM and the ICOC(the CIRM board), saying their value in helping research institutions leverage private donations outweighed any concerns over conflicts of interest raised by Little Hoover."

Philippidis also quoted a state higher education official, Charles Reed, who warned that giving the governor more appointment power would politicize the agency. The president of the UC system currently appoints two members of the 29-person CIRM board. The UC system also has another five appointees on the panel. California politicans appoint the remaining 22.

The meeting of Legislative Subcommittee will be conducted via teleconference with locations throughout the state from which the public can participate. They include San Francisco, Healdsburg, La Jolla(2), Palo Alto and Elk Grove. Specific addresses can be found on the agenda.

(Editor's note: Based on incorrect information from the BioRegion News article, earlier versions this item erroneously connected Charles Reed to the UC system. )

Sphere: Related Content

The Bee on Hoover Report: Time for Candor

The Sacramento Bee on Sunday carried an editorial headlined "time for a change at stem cell institute."

The editorial, published also in other McClatchy newspapers including those in Fresno and Merced, was keyed to the report by the Little Hoover Commission. The Bee wrote,

"For far too long, this institute(CIRM) and its leadership have been secretive, defensive and unwilling to acknowledge a flawed management structure, the legacy of a flawed ballot initiative.

"Maturity involves being able to consider outside criticism and engage in self-evaluation. Sadly, the leaders of the stem cell institute have developed a bunker mentality that continues to hurt the agency's mission.

"The institute's reaction to a recent report by the Little Hoover Commission is the latest demonstration."

The Bee continued,

“If adopted by CIRM and the Legislature, (the Hoover) recommendations and others could go a long way toward helping the stem cell institute operate more effectively, with greater accountability of taxpayer dollars. Yet instead of taking a few days to absorb the report and discuss it with his board, (CIRM Chairman Robert) Klein immediately dismissed it in a press release.

"The agency's spokesman dismissed the Little Hoover's process as 'ludicrous,' and Klein threatened a court challenge if the Legislature attempted to act on the recommendations.

“Fortunately, Klein is just one of 29 members of the institute's oversight board. Many others are distinguished academics and patient advocates who have greater candor, and less pride of parenthood, in acknowledging CIRM's flaws.

"Now is the time for their voices to be heard, in public meetings, as the institute approaches its five-year mark."

Sphere: Related Content

No IOUs for California stem cell researchers

The State of California began printing IOUs this afternoon to pay its bills because of a $26 billion budget crisis, but stem cell researchers funded by the state need not worry.

That's because the California stem cell agency is immune – for the time being – from fallout from the financial debacle.

The ballot measure, Prop. 71, that created CIRM gave the research effort special legal status. The governor and legislature cannot touch the agency's funding.

CIRM is not the only state agency that is isolated from all the effects of the budget mess. While most state employees are facing a nearly 5 percent pay cut from just last month on top of previous cuts, the the California Highway Patrol is likely to see a pay raise, according to Jon Ortiz of The Sacramento Bee.

Diana Lambert, also of The Bee, reported that the budget pain has not yet “trickled up” to leaders of the University of California system. She reported salaries of $295,000 to $450,000 for UC chancellors along with generous benefits.

Lambert continued,

“The salaries and perks continue despite cuts to freshman enrollment next year, fee increases at some professional schools of as much as 50 percent and student fee hikes of nearly 17 percent over two years.”

At a troubled California regional transit agency, some “foreworkers” are pulling down six figure salaries, including overtime, that run as high as $218,621, according to Daniel Borenstein of the San Mateo Times.

The inequities illustrate the difficulties in dealing with the California cash crisis, which extends into local and regional entities as well as state government. The governor and lawmakers cannot by law reach into all fiscal corners of the state in their efforts to make semi-rational cuts.

One of the reasons for that is government by ballot initiatives, such as Prop. 71, which hamstring legislators – for good reasons and bad – when they try to deal with both policy and budget matters.

CIRM's operational budget is tight overall, probably tighter than many state agencies, although some might quarrel with its priorities, documentation and justification. And scientists certainly should not see their multi-year projects shelved and research basically lost because of state financial vagaries. Midstream loss of funding would throw away much of the original investment.

But that doesn't mean that ballot initiatives such as Prop. 71 represent good government or good policy. Indeed, Prop. 71 itself is one of CIRM's worst enemies as it hampers the board and creates conflicts of interests that are all but impossible to resolve. Sphere: Related Content

California Stem Cell Agency to Hit Staffing Cap

SAN FRANCISCO – The California stem cell agency has added two new positions to support its 29-member board in a move that is likely to push its staffing to its legal limit of 50 for the first time ever.

CIRM President Alan Trounson provided the additional staff after some members of the board complained at a meeting in June that they could not get adequate back-up from CIRM staff. The contentious session in San Diego also highlighted what several board members called “festering” issues dealing with governance and the limitations of Prop. 71, which created the stem cell agency and is virtually impossible to change.

One of those limitations is the 50-person cap on staff, which CIRM could reach this fiscal year. The agency was scheduled to hit 47 under the budget approved last month. However the spending plan did not include the two additional staffers for the board nor did it include a high level finance specialist that the agency is planning to hire.

CIRM Chairman Robert Klein told directors at a special teleconference meeting that the two new board staff positions will terminate at the end of 2010 because of the staff limit. He explained that the agency will then need to hire two additional scientific officers to help handle its burgeoning grant load. By the end of this year, the agency is expected to have approved $1 billion in grants.

Although Wednesday's meeting did not specifically discuss hitting the 50-person cap, Klein said the agency plans to come up with alternative means of financing the board positions after 2010.

Klein also raised the possibility of having the board vote on the move to add the two staffers. Several board members said that was not necessary because hiring the persons was entirely within Trounson's authority.

Board member Jeff Sheehy, who raised the board staffing issue at the June meeting, said adding the new staff still did not provide adequate support for CIRM's big board. Only one person has had primary responsibility for dealing with the board, although additional help is provided by others.

Sheehy, a communications manager for UCSF, alluded to criticism by some board members that the board was micro-managing by seeking additional support. He said,

“If the board can't suggest a minimal level of support for the board, the board is not in control of the agency.”

One of the two persons will be assigned to Vice Chairman Art Torres, who deals with bond financing and legislative issues. That position has been filled. The other position will be an administrative assistant for board executive director Melissa King. That job is expected to be posted shortly.

Following the brief public meeting, the board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters, including the recent resignation of Marie Csete as chief scientific officer. Sphere: Related Content

Csete Discloses Reasons for Resignation: Lack of Respect at CIRM

Nature magazine reported today that Marie Csete says she resigned as chief scientific officer of the $3 billion California stem cell agency because her advice was not respected.

Reporter Erika Check Hayden quoted Csete as saying,

"When it became clear to me that my considered clinical advice was not respected, I concluded that it made no sense for me to stay at CIRM."

Hayden also wrote,

“When Csete left Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, to join CIRM in March 2008, she gave up her lab and divorced her husband John Doyle. He is a professor at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, an institution she would be inviting to apply for research funding and so needed to avoid contravening state conflict-of-interest laws. 'We were willing to sacrifice a lot for me to be in a position to make a positive impact at CIRM,' she says. 'I wanted to see it to the end.'

Hayden continued,

“Csete says she hopes her leaving will mark 'a new start' for the agency. 'I had tried everything I could to change what I think needed to change from the inside, and that was not going to happen,' she says. 'I felt I would have more impact by stepping away and advising the leadership of the board on my way out about ways to revise the structure and management of the agency to make it more optimal.'"

Csete's departure is likely to come up a teleconference meeting of the full CIRM board early tomorrow evening. The board is scheduled to consider a plan, posted this evening, to bolster support for the CIRM board. The meeting was called following a contentious session in San Diego earlier this month during which a number of “festering” issues surfaced.

In a reaction earlier to Csete's announcement, CIRM Chairman Robert Klein said he planned to contact each board member to discuss the matter, raising the possibility that he would be engaged in an illegal serial meeting.

We queried James Harrison, outside counsel to CIRM, about the plan. He replied last week,

“There will be no serial meeting -- the discussion will occur at our next meeting.”

Harrison referred to tomorrow's teleconference meeting.

We also asked Don Gibbons, chief communications officer for CIRM, whether Csete had a contract or was given severance from her $310,000-a-year job. He replied that she had neither. We asked Gibbons this evening whether CIRM has any comments on the Nature article today. He has not yet responded.

The public can take part in the tomorrow's meeting at teleconference locations in San Francisco (4), Los Angeles (4), Duarte, Sacramento, Elk Grove, La Jolla, Healdsburg, Irvine, Berkeley, Palo Alto, Stanford and Tucson, Ariz. See the agenda for specific addresses. Sphere: Related Content

Three Handlers Clear First Round in $500 Million Biotech Lending Program

MENLO PARK -- Three financial firms today made the first cut in their bid to handle the California stem cell agency's $500 million biotech lending program.

The CIRM directors' Finance Subcommittee sent Square 1 Bank in East Palo Alto, Comerica Bank in San Diego and Silicon Valley Bank of Santa Clara into negotiations with the agency's staff.

The ultimate winners of the contracts will be selected by the full board of the $3 billion agency after its staff completes its negotiations.

Losing out in the bid were Adjuvant Capital Partners of San Francisco and Orix Venture Finance in Palo Alto.

The Finance Subcommittee, which had asked for the staff analysis five days ahead of today's meeting, was presented today with a five-page summary of the proposals.

The three winning firms had the best cost rankings. CIRM used the example of a $20 million loan serviced over a six-year period. The firms had a choice of using a fee for service or a loan origination model. Square 1 had the lowest cost – $71,000 for the sample loan on a fee for service basis. Additional expenses were shown for handling the warrants. No dollar amounts were presented in that case, only percentages. Additional fees are likely to be imposed on potential borrowers.

No potential borrowers were present for today's session. But it may well be appropriate for CIRM to consult with them prior to locking down terms and fees that be difficult for the borrowers, who are supposed to be coming from a financial "valley of death."

The Finance Subcommittee gave the following scores to the firms: Square 1, 978; Comerica, 928; Silicon Valley Bank, 878; Orix, 484, and Adjuvant, 466.

At least two and possibly three firms will ultimately take part in handling the loan program. CIRM needs more than one because of the likely possibility that conflicts of interest will arise at the financial firms.

CIRM expects to kick off its loan program with its $210 million disease team round, which is expected to be approved later this year. It will be the largest research round in CIRM's history.

Following the teleconference meeting, Michael Goldberg, chairman of the Finance Subcommittee and a partner in the Mohr-Davidow venture capital firm of Menlo Park, said links with CIRM will help to establish the financial firms as early leaders in the growth of the stem cell industry in California.

All of the proposals can be found via the agenda for today's meeting. Sphere: Related Content