Prop. 14: California Voters Like Bond Measures Most of the Time -- At Least in the Past

If the past is any guide, the $5.5 billion ballot measure to rescue the state of California's stem cell program from financial extinction is likely to win approval today from voters.

Golden State voters have been generous with bond measures since 1986, approving them more than a majority of the time in statewide elections. 

According to figures compiled by the state's Legislative Analyst, 67 bond measures on statewide ballots have been approved in the last 34 years. Twenty-seven were rejected. 

That said, considerable caveats abound. These are not ordinary times.  

The state is reeling from wildfires, severe economic disruption, Covid-19, overstretched local and state budgets not to mention pandemic fatigue. 

And just how all that will translate to action on Proposition 14, the stem cell ballot initiative is unclear. No polls have been published on the measure, which has been eclipsed by much higher profile measures, not to mention the presidential race. 

But it could well be that the public wants more certainty in terms of medical care and cures, which the backers of Proposition 14 promise.

"Proposition 14 continues vital funding to find treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases and conditions that affect someone in nearly half of all California families – such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes," says the campaign website.

"Stem cell research is restoring health and improving lives in California," the site says.

Oddly enough the heavy promotion in past years of snake-oil "stem cell" therapies may well benefit the measure. Everybody loves miracles. And significant segments of the public do not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate medical claims.

That said, it could cut the other way as well, with some voters thinking Proposition 14 is a close cousin of the rogue "stem cell" clinics, which number in the hundreds across California and are almost totally unregulated. 

Election results are likely to be slow to surface this evening after polls close at 8 p.m. PDT. The mainstream media will be focused on other races that will go unmentioned here. The California Stem Cell Report, however, will be digging into the returns most of the evening and will bring Proposition 14 results to you right here on this site both tonight and again tomorrow morning. 

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​Read all about California's stem cell agency, including Proposition 14, in David Jensen's new book. Buy it on Amazon: California's Great Stem Cell Experiment: Inside a $3 Billion Search for Stem Cell Cures. Click here for more information on the author.

Prop. 14: Online Forum Scheduled for Wednesday on $5.5 Billion Stem Cell Ballot Measure

An online forum dealing with the $5.5 billion stem cell measure to save California's stem cell research program is scheduled for this Wednesday with a panel that includes scientists and patient advocates. 

The event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by Summit for Stem Cell Foundation, a San Diego-based, stem cell advocacy group. The session will include a live Q&A segment. Questions may also be submitted in advance. 

On tap for the discussion about Proposition 14 are Jeanne Loring, co-founder of Aspen Neurosciences and formerly with Scripps Research Institute; patient advocates Kristin MacDonald and Katie Jackson; Melissa King, executive director of Americans for Cures, and the publisher of this blog for the last 15 years, David Jensen. Moderating will be Bernie Siegel, executive director of the nonprofit Regenerative Medicine Foundation. Siegel created and co-chaired 17 annual World Stem Cell Summits.

Registration is limited. You can register here. The event begins at 5 p.m. PDT and is scheduled to conclude at 6:15 p.m. 

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this item listed Paul Knoepfler of UC Davis as a participant on the panel. However, he has had to drop out.)

Deletion and Explanation

An erroneous item involving the removal of a CIRM board member appeared very briefly this afternoon on the California Stem Cell Report. It was premised on inaccurate information contained in a CIRM news release from 2012. The item was deleted minutes after we were alerted by CIRM regarding the incorrect information in its press release. 

"California's Great Stem Cell Experiment: Inside a $3 Billion Search for Cures:" A New Book on the State's Stem Cell Agency

David Jensen

A new book devoted to the life and times of California's nearly 16-year-old stem cell research program is now available on Amazon. The book chronicles the stem cell agency's story from its early days to its current imperiled existence. 

The book is called "California's Great Stem Cell Experiment: Inside a $3 Billion Search for Cures." It was written by yours truly, David Jensen, who has covered the agency since January 2005 and who has published some 5,000 items about the program on this blog, the California Stem Cell Report.

The book explores the agency's performance as 20 million Californians vote this month and next to decide whether to provide $5.5 billion more for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is officially known. Questions addressed include: 

• Has CIRM fulfilled the expectations raised by the 2004 campaign?
• Has its work since then been worth $4 billion (CIRM's cost including interest on the state bonds that finance its work)?
• What are the important elements and new directions created by Proposition 14 in addition to the $5.5 billion ($7.8 billion with interest), and does the measure fit with the state's current priorities? 

CIRM is unique in California's history, which has never seen an enterprise like this. It is also unique nationally. No other state has launched a scientific stem cell program of this magnitude.  And it is an agency that operates outside of the bounds of what many consider normal state government controls and finance. 

At the same time, even its opponent will acknowledge the significance of CIRM's work, which includes helping to finance 64 clinical trials and the creation of what it calls an Alpha Clinic Network throughout the state. 

In 2012, CIRM heard from the Institute of Medicine, which CIRM hired to conduct a $700,000 examination of the agency's work. The book re-examines the IOM findings, which were both laudatory and critical, and reviews CIRM's response.  

Along with critics, the book brings to readers the voices of CIRM supporters, its executives and former officials, including the first president of the agency, Zach Hall; its first chairman and leader of the 2020 campaign, Robert Klein; its current president, Maria Millan; its current chairman, Jonathan Thomas, and former president, Randy Mills, who introduced CIRM 2.0 and who is now president of the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla, Ca.

One also cannot forget the CIRM governing board director who early on who looked at the 2004 Proposition 71 governance structure for the agency and called it a "dog's breakfast." 

You can purchase "California's Great Stem Cell Experiment" by clicking on this sentence, which will take you to Amazon.  

California Stem Cell Report Now Optimized for Mobile App/Phone Use

For those of you who have been frustrated trying to read on your cell phone the information on this web site, the California Stem Cell Report is now optimized for viewing on cell phones.  Please let me know if you have any difficulties in that regard or have other suggestions for the California Stem Cell Report at djensen@californiastemcellreport.com. Thank you. 

Correction

A item published Oct. 24, 2020, dealing with a UC Irvine panel discussion of Proposition 14 incorrectly said that the event would be Oct. 5. It will be on Oct. 6.  

Correction

An item on May 23, 2020, dealing with the signature count on the proposed $5.5 billion California stem cell initiative incorrectly said that Mono County had the least number of valid signatures (4). The correct county is Modoc. 

Correction

A item earlier today dealing with the signature-gathering campaign for a $5.5 billion ballot measure incorrectly said that the campaign had said it had gathered 935,000 signatures. The correct figure is 915,000.

Covid-19 Break for California Stem Cell Report

The California Stem Cell Report, at least this writer, has tested positive for covid-19.  The symptoms are such that it makes it make difficult to compose even short postings. We are following the usual precautions and hope to return to regular publication soon.

Checking in on Skimpy Media Coverage of the $3 Billion California Stem Cell Program

The Capitol Weekly website, a must read for state policy makers and legislators, published an article yesterday involving California's stem cell agency. The article began like this,

"A small firm in Menlo Park is probably the only company in the nation that is named after the number of a particular human protein. It is a small number too, only 47. But it has large implications for California’s financially strapped state stem cell agency."

The piece pulled together the events of last week involving the purchase of Forty Seven, Inc., a grantee of the stem cell agency, by Gilead Sciences, Inc., for $4.9 billion. It was the lead story on Capitol Weekly for much of yesterday.

The political and governmental news website is a case where California stem cell news reaches an important audience not normally attuned to what emanates from the stem cell agency's headquarters in Oakland.  

While regular readers of the California Stem Cell Report are familiar with many aspects of the Forty Seven deal and its significance, that is not necessarily the case with the readers of Capitol Weekly. They consist of "elected officials and staff, political professionals, activists, academics and regular state employees," according to its web site. Capitol Weekly is also something of an institution and has been publishing, first in print and then online, since the 1980s.  

As our readers are aware, news coverage of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in the mainstream media is virtually non-existent, which poses a challenge for the agency as it hopes for voter approval of a proposed ballot measure next fall to give it an additional $5.5 billion. 

Mainstream coverage of the agency and the ballot measure will step up next fall, but the news media has severe financial and staffing limitations. Most of their efforts will go to cover the presidential race and matters that have more perceived, immediate impact on California. 

Capitol Weekly has a special niche that reaches influential folks and opinion leaders in the state Capitol. The California Stem Cell Report has an arrangement with Capitol Weekly in which it often picks up items from this site after they are published here. This writer also sometimes writes a piece for Capitol Weekly that is tailored to its audience, which does not necessarily want or need as much detail as many of the readers of the California Stem Cell Report. Yesterday's story on Capitol Weekly is one example. 

The media environment is tough right now for coverage of science-oriented stories or small state agencies, with the exception of such things as the coronavirus. But it is a reality that confronts the campaign on behalf of the $5.5 billion initiative to keep CIRM alive. 

California Stem Cell Report Taking Break

The California Stem Cell Report is on holiday until Jan. 6. Look for a fresh posting then. Happy New Year to all.

Correction

An early version of the Stanford item today incorrectly reported the deadline for co-funding of the award in question. The correct date is May 1 -- not April 1. Judith Shizuru's last name was also incorrectly spelled. 

Correction

Based on inaccurate figures on the stem cell agency web site, the NIH/CIRM sickle cell item on Oct. 9,2018, incorrectly reported that the agency had committed more than $200 million to sickle cell research. The correct amount is $38.8 million. CIRM said that the error was created by a computer glitch and that it has corrected the figures on its site. The item has also been corrected. 

San Francisco Chronicle: California's $3 Billion Stem Cell Program Does Not Measure Up to Voter Expectations

The San Francisco Chronicle, in a long and penetrating look at California's $3 billion stem cell agency, today said the research program has fallen "far short" of the promises made by its backers during the ballot campaign that created the effort.

Written by Erin Allday and Joaquin Palomino, the article said the agency, created by Proposition 71 in 2004, "can take credit for some notable progress," including saving the lives of children with rare immune deficiency diseases. Such efforts have been well supported by the agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

"But as thrilling as such advances are, they fall far short of what Prop. 71’s promoters promised." Allday and Palomino wrote.

"Not a single federally approved therapy has resulted from CIRM-funded science. The predicted financial windfall has not materialized. The bulk of CIRM grants have gone to basic research, training programs and building new laboratories, not to clinical trials testing the kinds of potential cures and therapies the billions of dollars were supposed to deliver."

Allday and Palomino worked on the CIRM overview for months, along with three other major pieces on stem cell therapies, both unregulated and those backed by the stem cell agency.  They reviewed the nearly 1,000 grants awarded by the agency and tracked the results, interviewing researchers and patient advocates and quantified the results.

The Chronicle series appeared as the agency nears its financial demise. It expects to run out of cash for new awards next year. The agency hopes that voters will approve a yet-to-be-written, $5 billion ballot measure in November 2020.

The Chronicle noted, however, that much of the research financed by the agency is not likely to resonate with voters.

Nonetheless, the article today contained ample information from the agency about its efforts, including its 49 clinical trials and some high profile results from those trials.  The piece posed the question of whether the nearly 14-year-old program has paid off. And it said,

"It’s not a question that can be answered simply. Science often can’t be measured in quantifiable outcomes. Failures aren’t just common, they’re necessary — it’s impossible to expect every dollar invested in research to lead down a traceable path toward success.... 

"It has helped make California a global leader in the field that’s come to be known as regenerative medicine. Anywhere significant stem cell research is taking place in the state, it almost surely has received support from CIRM."

The Chronicle quoted a member of the CIRM board who has been with it since its first days.

"'What was promised was not deliverable,' said longtime CIRM board member Jeff Sheehy, a former San Francisco supervisor. 'However, I would distinguish the promises from the impact and value. We have developed a regenerative medicine juggernaut.'"

The Chronicle also spoke with Bob Klein, a Palo Alto real estate investment banker who led the 2014 campaign.

"Klein...is unapologetic about the campaign he led. Indeed, as he lines up advocates and testimonials for the coming campaign, his message is familiar: Fund this research and we will save lives. Slow it down and the consequences will be grave.

"'Do you want your son to die? Are you going to wait?' Klein asked recently. 'Is that the price you are prepared to pay?'"

Today's Chronicle piece, roughly 5,000 words long, raises a host of important issues and deals with them in a nuanced and thoughtful manner. It is must reading for all those interested in California's stem cell research effort. 

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this item inadvertently omitted Palomino's name. Allday noted in an email to the California Stem Cell Report: "He played a HUGE role in putting together the CIRM story – he was basically solely responsible for collecting and analyzing the data from CIRM.")

Article Postponed on Folsom baby and the Stem Cell Agency

Due to circumstances beyond the control of the California Stem Cell Report, the promised article on a legislative appearance by a Folsom father of an infant involved in a stem cell agency clinical trial has been delayed until Monday.

The father appeared at a legislative hearing earlier this month, along with his wife and child. The baby was afflicted with an immune deficiency disorder that would have been fatal. But he was treated in a clinical trial backed by the stem cell agency and is now healthy.

California's Stem Cell 'Gold Rush:' Nearly 14 Years of Prospecting

A committee of the California Legislature today examined the state's $3 billion stem cell agency. Officials of the agency and others presented their perspective. Here is the text of prepared remarks by David Jensen, publisher of this blog, who appeared at the invitation of the Legislature.

(On Aug. 21, the stem cell agency reprinted the text below on its blog, noting that "at CIRM we know that not everyone agrees with us all the time, or supports all the decisions" of the agency.) 

   2018-08-15 Jensen Assembly Biotech Committee Testimony by DavidJensen on Scribd

Stem Cell Blog Taking Week Off

The California Stem Cell Report is going dark this week. Look for exciting and thrilling fresh postings next week.

Sacramento Bee, Royalties and California Stem Cell Payoff

The Sacramento Bee this morning carried an article by this writer on the California stem cell agency and its first $190,345.87, royalty check. The article is aimed at a more general audience including policy makers in the state Capitol. Here is a link to the piece, which carries this headline on The Bee web site:

 "Will California's $3 billion in stem cell spending pay off? First royalty check arrives"

The full text of comments summarized in the piece will be carried later today on the California Stem Cell Report. 

Correction

In the Parkinson’s therapy item on Nov. 17, 2017, the California Stem Cell Report incorrectly described the amount of funding involved in the GForce Parkinson’s initiative. The backing includes $52.3 million plus substantial support from BlueRock Therapeutics, which is financed with $225 million from Bayer AG and Versant Ventures. BlueRock, a Cambridge, Mass., firm, says on its web site, “Our most advanced therapeutic candidate, for Parkinson’s disease, will enter the clinic in 2018.”

Correction

An item earlier today said incorrectly that this week's Internet outage at the California stem cell agency was the first such significant occurrence. The agency, in fact, had another outage in September.