The California stem cell agency today banned its employees
and governing board from communicating with its former president, Alan
Trounson, about matters involving StemCells, Inc., which holds a $19.4 million
award from the state program.
Citing the need to protects its integrity and prevent
conflicts of interest, the agency also ordered a full review of all agency
activities linked to the publicly traded, Newark, Ca., firm.
Today’s action followed Monday’s appointment of Trounson to
StemCells, Inc.’s, board of directors. The announcement came only seven days
after Trounson’s departure from the agency. Members of the StemCells board received as
much as $99,800 in total compensation in 2013.
Trounson’s relationship with StemCells, Inc., and its
founder, Stanford researcher Irv Weissman, has come under sharp criticism. John
Simpson of Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca., a longtime observer of California stem cell affairs, said this week
that Trounson’s appointment “calls into question not only his ethics, but
unfortunately casts a shadow over CIRM and its award process as well.”
Simpson said,
“Whether it’s true or not, this has every appearance of being a payback for the money CIRM paid out to Irv Weissman and Stanford University. StemCells Inc. and Stanford have received more than $300 million from CIRM — more than any other researchers.”
Weissman has received $34.7 million in grants from the stem
cell agency, which is formally known as the California Institute of
Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Stanford has received $281 million.
In its announcement today, Randy Mills, the agency's new president, said,
“CIRM was created by the people of California to help accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. Our responsibility is to them. So it is essential that we conduct these efforts with fairness and integrity. We take even the appearance of conflicts of interest very seriously.”The agency also said that it was sending a letter to Trounson and StemCells, Inc., “reminding them of the legal limitations that apply to Dr. Trounson under state law.
“Although it is permissible for Dr. Trounson to accept
employment with a CIRM-funded company, state law prohibits him from:
“1. Communicating with Board members and CIRM employees on behalf of Stem Cells, Inc. for the purposes of influencing any administrative action, including the award or revocation of a grant or loan, involving Stem Cells, Inc. for one year following the termination of his employment with CIRM; and
“2. Assisting Stem Cells, Inc. in responding to a Request for Applications in which Dr. Trounson was involved as a CIRM employee or assisting Stem Cells Inc. with its existing loan.”
“1. Communicating with Board members and CIRM employees on behalf of Stem Cells, Inc. for the purposes of influencing any administrative action, including the award or revocation of a grant or loan, involving Stem Cells, Inc. for one year following the termination of his employment with CIRM; and
“2. Assisting Stem Cells, Inc. in responding to a Request for Applications in which Dr. Trounson was involved as a CIRM employee or assisting Stem Cells Inc. with its existing loan.”
The agency said that it did not know that Trounson was going
to be appointed to the StemCells board and only learned about it through the
press release Monday morning.
The $19.4 million award to StemCells, Inc., occurred under
unusual circumstances. Robert Klein, the
first chairman of CIRM, lobbied on behalf of the award, which was rejected
twice by the agency’s respected reviewers.
Despite reviewer actions, the board approved the award on a 7-5 vote.
(See here, here and here.)
Trounson’s relationship Weissman came under question also in
the $40 million stem cell genomics award earlier this year. The No. 2 person in
Weissman’s Stanford stem cell institute was involved in that award. However,
the agency has not yet signed a final agreement involving that proposal.
The agency did not mention any awards beyond those involving
StemCells, Inc., in its review.
The San Francisco Chronicle carried a story this afternoon on the agency's ban regarding Trounson.
Stephanie Lee wrote in the Chron,
The San Francisco Chronicle carried a story this afternoon on the agency's ban regarding Trounson.
Stephanie Lee wrote in the Chron,
“'It’s a pity that Trounson and StemCells Inc. simply don’t get it,' Simpson said. 'A full review of CIRM activities relating to StemCells Inc., as Mills pledged, is absolutely essential and the results must be made public as soon as available.'”Bradley Fikes of the San Diego U-T quoted CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas as telling his board members,
"The announcement (by StemCells, Inc.)raises serious and obvious concerns on a number of fronts."
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