Business To CIRM: We Need More Money

The California stem cell agency's plans for sharing the swag from research by nonprofits is drawing fire from the for-profit sector.

The national Biotech Industry Organization has complained in a letter to CIRM

:"These provisions substantially reduce or eliminate the incentives to commercialize patented stem cell-related technologies and products even in spite of the generous funding provided by Proposition 71."

Reporter Steve Johnson of the San Jose Mercury News reported the complaints from private sector, which were obtained from CIRM after the Mercury News filed a request under the public records act. Also registering complaints were the California Healthcare Institute, a biomedical industry group, and several biotech firms including Applied Biosystems of Foster City, Ca.

On the other hand, the California Council of Churches complained that the nonprofits would receive too great of a share of income from inventions from state-financed research.

Johnson's story also makes it clear once again that CIRM's initial approval of regulations is far from the final action. After the Oversight Committee approves them, they must go through the official state administrative proceedings allowing for additional comments and changes. That is the current stage for the nonprofit research rules, which were approved by the Oversight Committee last February.