California Stem Cell Report

Odd about the ALS grant. CIRM already has a disea...

2012-05-18T09:32:50.293-07:00

Odd about the ALS grant. CIRM already has a disease team award on the order of $20 million for ALS- isn't that working out?

We need to know some specific instances in which t...

2012-05-09T15:20:24.603-07:00

We need to know some specific instances in which the funded institutions dropped the ball on CIRM-funded inventions. It seems like it should be simple: CIRM requires frequent reports from all grantees. Shouldn't those make CIRM aware of potentially patentable inventions...and trigger a phone call to the tech transfer office at the institution?

CIRM and industry... what a joke! Favoritism, cro...

2012-04-11T16:14:08.201-07:00

CIRM and industry... what a joke!

Favoritism, cronyism...... I'm sure iPierian has done quite well with the CIRM for some reason!

Peculiar comment- "[the conference] would hav...

2012-04-02T11:54:55.279-07:00

Peculiar comment- "[the conference] would have confused the faithful for decades to come". I'm no expert on this stuff, but I would think that faith and confusion are mutually exclusive.

The Vatican is discrediting itself scientifically ...

2012-03-24T12:06:35.275-07:00

The Vatican is discrediting itself scientifically by inviting and then essentially un-inviting (via cancelling the whole conference) some of the best stem cell scientists in the world.
Paul
http://www.ipscell.com/2012/03/vatican-in-turmoil-as-it-kills-its-upcoming-stem-cell-conference/

It wasn't me! But I was impressed (and called...

2012-03-21T16:34:52.785-07:00

It wasn't me!

But I was impressed (and called the meeting "impressive" in my blog post title) by the CIRM board mtg today, which I attended in person for the first time, and I blogged about it here a few hours ago:

http://www.ipscell.com/2012/03/whats-it-like-inside-of-a-cirm-board-meeting-impressive/

Paul

I also sold ACTC stock not because I don't lik...

2012-02-17T13:58:27.544-08:00

I also sold ACTC stock not because I don't like the company, but because the volatility is just too much. I'm a stem cell researcher and I think the work they are doing is quite interesting.

I explain more about my decision on my lab's blog:
http://www.ipscell.com/2012/02/why-lanza-and-i-sold-act-stock/

I wish them the best of luck!

Paul

IOM's another disaster in making after the 510...

2012-02-14T18:55:08.247-08:00

IOM's another disaster in making after the 510(k) debacle.

Thanks, Jim, for your comment. However, I doubt th...

2012-02-01T11:28:28.336-08:00

Thanks, Jim, for your comment. However, I doubt the Republicans will be able to carry the day next fall, given their current state of disarray and shenanigans. Plus Romney has plenty of baggage that is likely to surface in a different way in a general election. I should also note that hESC research, the only reason voters approved creation of the California stem cell agency, represents less than $450 million of the agency's current $1.2 billion in grants. See http://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/stem-cell-research-funding-overview

It should also be noted, in case anybody missed it...

2012-01-31T13:55:51.468-08:00

It should also be noted, in case anybody missed it, that Newt Gingrich wants to ban hESC research altogether and the other Republican candidates want to roll back the Obama administrations revised rules on hESC funding by NIH. Mitt Romney was not a big hESC fan when he was Governor of Massachusetts either. CIRM may be the only game in town if the Republicans re-take the White House this year.

The contrast between CIRM funding Geron and not fu...

2012-01-25T10:55:40.705-08:00

The contrast between CIRM funding Geron and not funding ACT captures the agency's central problem dealing with companies. To wit, the grant making process could charitably be called arbitrary, a cynic would say corrupt.

Geron clearly spent an enormous amount of time stroking the egos of the powers that be at CIRM, Klein and Trounson, and were rewarded with $24 million.

ACT has realized that it is a waste to submit an application to CIRM since it made the catastrophic mistake of criticizing the agency publicly.

And the result is that CIRM misses out on an important opportunity in one of the most promising areas for embryonic stem cell therapy, the eye (immune privileged, enclosed site where wayward cells can be tracked and removed), while tossing time and money (yes, there was the return of the cash) down the Geron rathole.

Sad really for the California taxpayers, but expected given the dearth of experienced and knowledgeable MDs/clinicians on CIRM's staff (and yes, there are folks with MDs on their resumes, but how many patients have they ever treated?).

Did CA pay for this study too? They should use tha...

2012-01-20T14:05:14.402-08:00

Did CA pay for this study too? They should use that &700,000 to develop stem cell therapy, rather than for paid coverup. Alan Trounson paid $500K a year, he can go through CIRM awards to sort out the few ones that met Prop71 scientific merits from those CA not supposed to pay.

CIRM always seeks to pair scientific and clinical ...

2012-01-19T21:09:21.229-08:00

CIRM always seeks to pair scientific and clinical experts with patient advocates for its Spotlight section at the ICOC public meetings. The focus of this spotlight was on the application of genomics to advance stem cell science into therapies for patients. Dr. Venter is a recognized leader in the field of genomics since its inception. He was paired with a recognized expert in the field of leukemia (Dr. Catriona Jamieson) and a patient advocate who benefited from therapy that arose from the use of genomics.

In putting together the Genomics concept proposal, CIRM sought a wide range of inputs from about 50 scientists, editors, executives, and program administrators in California and throughout the United States. The goal was to put together a concept proposal that would maximize the use of CIRM funds to provide the platform in California for constructing a range of genomic studies focusing on the biology and therapeutic application of stem cells.

At this meeting the ICOC was considering a concept proposal, not considering funding recommendations. The request for applications (RFA) has not even been written. CIRM plans to write the RFA, with details regarding eligibility and review criteria, for posting in Spring 2012. The proposals submitted for this RFA will be evaluated on their merits by a group of scientists, all of whom come from outside California. No decisions have been or will be made until recommendations from that independent group of external scientists come to the ICOC for a funding decision later in the year.

Ellen Feigal, M.D.
Senior Vice President, Research and Development
CIRM

It seems improper to have Venter lecture at this w...

2012-01-19T11:14:04.211-08:00

It seems improper to have Venter lecture at this week's CIRM Board meeting about genomics--the same meeting at which the Board was deciding whether to fund the CIRM Genomics Centers of Excellence Grant Program--when Venter is certain to be an applicant for this funding.

Venter was also the keynote speaker at the CIRM grantee meeting this year at which CIRM seemed a bit star struck by him.

Word on the street is that CIRM has already for all intents and purposes decided to give Venter one of these genomics grants for $20 million before the RFA has even come out, which is not how the process is supposed to work, right?

Perhaps Venter should be ineligible to apply for this RFA given that CIRM has already given him an unfair advantage over all the other potential applicants by giving him not one but two unique opportunities to sell his case to the decision makers at CIRM.

Thanks for mentioning this blog entry. I thought y...

2012-01-05T12:30:29.046-08:00

Thanks for mentioning this blog entry. I thought you'd be interested in this link: http://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-funding/where-our-funding-goes/funding-rounds/summary-cirm-rounds-funding

I've updated our page on CIRM rounds of funding to include upcoming funding commitments. This list is currently a work in progress, but should be complete within the next few days. It includes the funding commitments that I mentioned in my blog.

Amy Adams
CIRM Communications Manager

Thanks, Amy. And a big whoops from me. I should ha...

2011-12-12T12:27:10.975-08:00

Thanks, Amy. And a big whoops from me. I should have had a link to the Thomas piece. It now has been added.

Thanks for your comments on our blog. Readers can ...

2011-12-12T08:03:46.310-08:00

Thanks for your comments on our blog. Readers can see the entry by Thomas and follow stem cell research updates here: http://cirmresearch.blogspot.com/

Amy Adams
CIRM Communications Manager (and Blog editor)

Thanks, David, for bring this important observatio...

2011-12-04T17:30:22.068-08:00

Thanks, David, for bring this important observation to our attention.

Jim Fossett makes a good point that Caulfield'...

2011-12-02T15:35:17.621-08:00

Jim Fossett makes a good point that Caulfield's remarks could apply in other areas of biomedicine. However, California enjoyed a special exposure to stem cell hype with the $30 million ballot initiative campaign that created the state's stem cell agency in 2004. Plus stem cell research seems to carry a miracle aura that is not found in the results of more pedestrian, but perhaps even more important medical research.

Hard to argue with most of what Caulfield says, bu...

2011-11-30T09:47:13.861-08:00

Hard to argue with most of what Caulfield says, but it should be noted that much the same thing could be said of lots of other biomedical enterprises, either university or private. There are a lot of competing approaches to cancer drug development, for example, and each has its own lengthy time horizon and big scientific uncertainties, and some have crashed and burned. Part of the reason why there's so much hype is that politicians and journalists want to hear about big results and don't want to hear about the uncertainty.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to run this ...

2011-11-23T07:31:06.870-08:00

Thanks for taking the time and effort to run this down. One could make a pretty good case that CIRM's increasing focus on therapies that are closer to market means it should act more like a venture capitalist than a research funder and make deals that give the state a share in the upside as well as a share of the financing risk. This may mean that some deals go bust, but most venture capital deals go bust as well. Doing loans rather than grants is one way to do this, so is taking an equity position in the company, if CIRM can do that.

Re Jim Fossett's question concerning warrants ...

2011-11-23T04:42:08.611-08:00

Re Jim Fossett's question concerning warrants and stock, we have queried the stem cell agency concerning the matter. We will post an item when we receive a response.

I'm confused--CIRM can hold warrants, which ar...

2011-11-22T08:03:30.703-08:00

I'm confused--CIRM can hold warrants, which are like stock options issued by the company that give the holder--in this case CIRM--the ability to buy stock in the company (Geron)at a specified time and price, but they can't exercise them and actually buy the stock? If that's the case, why would they take them in the first place? As some form of collateral if the company doesn't pay the loan back?

Hans Kierstead, one of the scientists who develope...

2011-11-22T07:30:51.942-08:00

Hans Kierstead, one of the scientists who developed the initial treatment, has been quoted in several places as saying the small market size--only about 6,000 patients per year--may simply not be able to support the costs of completing the clinical trial process.If the potential revenue is relatively small and won't materialize for several years, it may be difficult to find a buyer even at fire sale prices.

This role for CIRM as venture capitalist rather th...

2011-11-21T11:53:07.168-08:00

This role for CIRM as venture capitalist rather than as straight research project funder may become more prominent as CIRM becomes more involved with biotech companies closer to bringing projects to market. Venture capital firms in this area typically expect most of their investments to fail, and expect the few that succeed to make up their losses on the others. These firms do take on risk,including taking equity positions, which I'm not clear if CIRM can do. On the one hand, there is a risk of failure; on the other hand, it gives the state a share in the upside if projects work.