Stem Cell Snippets: Labs, Cha and Pomeroy

Wasteful Lab Duplication – Reporter Nicole Gaouette of the Los Angeles Times wrote about how George Bush's stem cell funding edict has resulted in wasteful efforts in stem cell research. The article indirectly raises a question about how much money NIH spends chasing down possible violations of the ambiguous and dubious directive. Gaouette uses examples from UC San Francisco and Advanced Cell Technology in Alameda, Ca.

Cash for Large Stem Cell Facilities – Reporter Terri Somers of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that CIRM hopes to have $225 million available for large stem cell research labs. Applications could be ready this summer. Recipients would have match at least 20 percent of the grant, according to the initial proposal.

CHA – The Scientist magazine has the latest on the Cha affair with a statement from Alan DeCherney that the publications committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine will meet Friday to discuss the matter. Also now available onine is the full text of the British Medical Journal article concerning the case.

Pomeroy – Claire Pomeroy, a member of the CIRM Oversight Committee and dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, discusses stem cell issues in the Sacramento News and Review. Among other things, she worries about stem cell tourism – the practice of folks seeking stem cell therapies abroad. In many cases, inadequate oversight exists. She also reviews the status of stem cell research at the UC Davis campus. The Cal Aggie campus newspaper also carried a piece on a presentation to the Oversight Committee Tuesday on vascular disease research.

CIRM Litigation – The folks seeking to put CIRM out of business have filed with the State Supreme Court their request to overturn two earlier decisions against them. The court has until June 5 to make its decision.

State of Affairs – Reporter David Louie broadcast a piece on San Francisco TV station KGO on April 10 that reviewed the stem state of affairs in California. He said that thanks to CIRM, the state is
"is already well on the way to making its own breakthroughs in stem cell research."

Pachter Joining CIRM, Another Audit Released

The California stem cell agency has named its first general counsel and released its own – nonperformance – audit following the report earlier this week by the State Auditor that picked apart CIRM workings in details that dug into $36 lunches.

The top legal spot at the agency went to Tamar Pachter, who was the lead attorney in the agency's so-far successful defense against challenges to its existence. Pachter, who will join CIRM March 19, served as a California deputy attorney general, where she worked in the areas of antitrust, bankruptcy and energy regulation for the past four years. A graduate cum laude from Fordham University of Law, she was selected from nearly 100 applicants. Her annual salary will be $160,000. More details on her background can be found in the press release at the www.cirm.ca.gov.

CIRM has a $558,000 contract for this fiscal year with the San Leandro law firm of Remcho, Johansen & Purcell. It has already paid Remcho $539,600 since January 2005.

The audit released by CIRM was commissioned under its $100,000, two-year contract with Macias Gini & O'Connell of Sacramento. It is typical of the sort of audits that are commonplace in the corporate world and covers less ground than the performance audit by the state auditor.

CIRM said,

"In a separate report, the auditor identified several opportunities where the CIRM could strengthen internal controls and operating efficiency. Some are related to practices of the State Controller’s Office, which acts as the Institute’s bookkeeper; others are wholly within the province of the CIRM. Per the auditor’s recommendation, for example, members of the CIRM governing board are now required to sign annual statements acknowledging review and receipt of the Institute’s conflict of interest policies. All the Macias Gini & O'Connell recommendations have been accepted by CIRM management."

You can find the report at the CIRM web site: www.cirm.ca.gov. Currently we are unable to access it directly but hope to bring you more on it later.

CIRM Hoping for Quick Supreme Court Action

With a little luck, the California stem cell agency could be finished very shortly with its current round of court travails.

Opponents of the agency have signaled they are likely to appeal to the California State Supreme Court Monday's ruling in favor of CIRM. But given the strength of the most recent decision, chances are fairly good that the high court may not grant a review.

Time limits are imposed on the Supreme Court appeal process so it may be all be over in about four months, if the court rejects a request for review.

Reporter Terri Somers of the San Diego Union-Tribune said stem cell Chairman Robert Klein read the section of the decision saying that the justices had "no hesitation" in rendering their decision and remarked:

“It doesn't get better than that, does it?”

Appellate decisions sometimes take a couple of months to surface. Monday's took 12 days.

Klein told New York Times reporter Andy Pollack that if the Supreme Court declines the case, CIRM could begin issuing its first bonds shortly after the court's rejection. The lawsuits have clouded the market for CIRM bonds, making the state unable to issue them. Pollack also succinctly characterized the CIRM opponents as groups that "oppose abortion, research with human embryonic stem cells or taxes."

Reporter Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle picked up an interesting quote from the decision dealing with the conflicts of interest posed by Prop. 71. He quoted Justice Stuart Pollak as saying:

"The voters have determined that the advantages of permitting particularly knowledgeable persons to decide which research projects to fund outweigh any concerns that these decisions may be influenced by the personal or professional interests of those members, so long as the members do not participate in any decision to award grants to themselves or their employer."

Monday's decision does not mean that CIRM is out of the legal woods. Given the fever pitch of ESC research opponents, they are certain to come at the agency again but on different grounds. Their objective is to badger, impede and stall.

Full Text of CIRM Ruling

Here is a link to the full text of the appellate court decision which Wired blogger Kristen Philipkoski supplied on her "Bodyhack" site.

AP Story on Appellate Ruling

Here is a link to the story by reporter David Kravetz of The Associated Press on today's court decision in the California stem cell lawsuit.

Justices Say They Had 'No Hesitation' in CIRM Case

Today's Court of Appeal ruling in favor of CIRM was no split decision, according to one attorney who read the 58-page judgment and described it as "very thorough."

All three justices ruled in favor of the stem cell agency, said Robert P. Feyer of the San Francisco law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Here are the final lines of the decision:

"After careful consideration of all of appellants' legal objections, we have no hesitation in concluding, in the exercise of our 'solemn duty to jealously guard the precious initiative power' [citation omitted], that Proposition 71 suffers from no constitutional or legal infirmity. Accordingly, we shall affirm the well-reasoned decision of the trial court upholding the validity of the initiative. The judgment is affirmed."

California's new state controller John Chiang, chair of the Financial Accountability Oversight committee for CIRM, moved quickly to herald the action. He said,

"I am pleased that the Court has upheld the will of the voters, and am encouraged that we are one step closer in ending litigation that has tied up the funding for California's historic investment in stem cell research."

The CIRM Lawsuit Appeal: Not a Plus for Opponents

Reporter Paul Elias of The Associated Press used the word “skeptical” three times in his coverage of today's oral arguments in the appeal of the California stem cell lawsuit.

That is how he characterized the appellate court justices during the Valentine's Day hearing concerning attempts to overturn the judgment against opponents of the $3 billion stem cell agency. The hearing also generated rare televison coverage on San Francisco station KGO. The text of the report by Lyanne Melendez was straightforward and appeared favorable to CIRM. But images are what matters on TV, and those were not accessible to us.

The Los Angeles Times also carried a very brief report on its website late Wednesday.

CIRM issued a statement from stem cell Chairman Robert Klein. Among other things, he said,

“Despite the opponents’ efforts, $130 million in Proposition 71 stem cell research funding for scientists is scheduled to be in place by March 15th.”

The opponents, according to press reports, also did not say anything that advanced their arguments beyond those rejected by the trial court judge.

CIRM's Court Date Draws Coverage

The Valentine Day hearing on the appeal in the California stem cell lawsuit drew two stories today, one in Dow Jones' MarketWatch and the other in the Los Angeles Daily Journal.

Anne Marie Ruff wrote the Daily Journal piece, a fairly lengthy overview of the legal machinations. She quoted yours truly as saying, "California courts are loath to tell voters that they have no business ruling themselves, which is what the initiative process is all about.”

Carolyn Pritchard wrote a shorter piece on Market Watch, covering similar ground. Pritchard linked to a video of an interview with CIRM Chairman Robert Klein. Neither article carried material that would be surprising to readers of this blog.