Klein and His Role on Proposed Stem Cell Research Center

The Northern California land deal/stem cell research center involving California stem cell chairman Robert Klein calls for him to head a new nonprofit group that would be endowed by the family of developer Angelo Tsakopolous.

In response to a query from the California Stem Cell Report, Amy Daly, executive director of Klein's lobbying group, Americans for Stem Cell Therapies and Cures, said,

"As you may be aware, there is a gap in funding in the life of therapy development where many good ideas for therapies and cures die for lack of funding. It is this funding gap that we hope to address with this project. California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has focused (and we believe will continue to focus) much of ithat come from early research and safely see them to the point in time where they are picked up by biotech and VCs (venture capitalists).

"We hope to inspire international collaboration by having board members from world-class institutions from around the world. These institutions, as well as UC Davis and other California institutions, will also have the opportunity to have satellite lab space near the incubator space that we are building for the therapy development."

She continued:

"This project will create a non-profit to bridge that funding gap and we believe it will be called Bridge to Cures. The family donating the land and endowment funds, the Tsakopoulos family, have asked Bob to chair the board of Bridge to Cures. The structure of the board will be similar to the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee with the addition of Angelo and Kyriakos Tsakopoulos and Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis. We expect that the board will choose to have working groups make recommendations to them similar to the working groups of California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. We hope to inspire international collaboration by having board members from world-class institutions from around the world. These institutions, as well as UC Davis and other California institutions, will also have the opportunity to have satellite lab space near the incubator space that we are building for the therapy development."

Daly's full statement is below.