Peering into California's Stem Cell Future: A Vision for Next November if Voters Give Go Ahead

So what happens on Nov. 4 if California voters approve $5.5 billion more for the state's 15-year-old stem cell research program?

Well, as someone famously has said -- sort of -- there is a plan for that. And its essence will be presented tomorrow morning online for the entire world to see and discuss.

Nov. 4 is the day after the election in which voters will say yea or nay to the initiative to refinance the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which needs lots of money to keep its doors open in Oakland.

Maria Millan, CEO of CIRM, and its lean team of 33 have been working hard on what might be called CIRM 3.0 -- CIRM 2.0 being its current state. She has prepared 16 pages of presentations that are now available for viewing on the CIRM website.

Millan will formally offer them up tomorrow morning at a public meeting of the CIRM governing board that will be on YouTube and audiocast beginning at 9 a.m. PDT.  Instructions for participating are on the agenda, including how to speak directly to all those logged on, how to raise questions and make suggestions.

As usual the slides are an outline -- not a fully fleshed-out proposal -- which CIRM's 29 directors may change or reject. But it is likely that the essential elements of the proposal will move forward . The concept plan is also likely to affect the professional lives of the few thousand folks folks working in stem cell research in California.

What is more important is the measure of the success of the proposal, which basically is a  development effort aimed at aggressively pushing stem cell therapies into the marketplace. The agency currently lists 63 clinical trials that it is assisting, an area that is likely to become more important if the initiative passes.

At the beginning of the presentation, Millan asks the question, "Where do we want to be?"

Her three-point response is:

• "Accelerate the development of near term and future innovative regenerative medicine approaches to deliver effective cures and treatments

• "Expand therapeutic delivery and equitable access to patients with unmet medical needs 

• "Partner with key stakeholders and structure internal operations to accomplish the above"

Californians will hear more tomorrow about how CIRM might use $5.5 billion over the next 10 to 15 years. Then CIRM will once again have to start looking for more cash. The new initiative provides no funding beyond that time frame.