Thursday, September 17, 2015

California's $3 Billion Stem Cell Agency Releases More Information for Next Week's Meeting

The California stem cell agency yesterday made public significant background information concerning its board meeting one week from today, including an application for a $20 million clinical trial award.

Release of the information is a step forward in openness and transparency for the agency, which has slipped in that area recently. (See here and here.)

The $20 million award is the only application up for approval next Thursday, just four business days away. The California Stem Cell Report will have more on the proposal later today.

Items with fresh, additional information include new conflict of interest standards for the agency’s blue-ribbon grant reviewers, changes in the scheduling of upcoming rounds for basic and translational research and changes in loan award policies.

Still missing is information involving the agency’s plans to correct deficiencies identified in a $230,000 performance audit and the agency’s ongoing revision of its plans for spending its last $1 billion.

Next Thursday’s meeting will be a teleconference session with 17 remote locations, including Atlanta, where the public can participate and listen in.  All are places from which board members log in for the meeting. The locations include San Francisco (3 locations), Fresno, Davis, Los Angeles(3 locations), Napa, Stanford, Sacramento, Davis, Fresno, Berkeley, Los Gatos, Irvine and La Jolla (2 locations). Specific addresses can be found on the agenda.

The meeting will also be audiocast on the Internet, but no public participation is available by that means.

Comments to the board can be sent in advance of the meeting to mbonneville@cirm.ca.gov.

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