Audience Numbers for First CIRM Audio-cast

Here is the count from the California stem cell agency on the audience last week for its first-ever audio Webcast of its board meeting.

CIRM spokesman Don Gibbons reported that on Thursday there were 21 users on the phone line and 27 online. On Friday, 23 listened in via the phone line and 85 online. He said there was "no way to know" if those were separate users or "folks coming in and out."

While the numbers appear to be small, they are significantly larger than the typical on-site public audience at board meetings. We have attended a number of board meetings where there are less than 15 persons from the public in the audience, substantially less than the combined total for the 29-member board and CIRM staff in attendance.

Last week's meeting was handicapped by short advance notice of the audiocast. Plus the both board sessions were lengthy, particularly the Thursday afternoon session which stretched past 9 p.m.

Look for higher numbers in March and April as more people become familiar with the service.

California Stem Cell Money Woes in San Diego, Santa Barbara and San Francisco Area

How bad is the CIRM financial crisis? It is endangering the highly touted San Diego stem cell research consortium, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Reporter Terri Somers said that financial woes have prevented the consortium "from securing the loans it needs to build a much ballyhooed $115 million stem cell research center (see rendering) in Torrey Pines." The consortium includes UC San Diego, Scripps, Burnham and Salk.

Somers wrote:

"San Diego is not alone in its troubles. The Buck Institute for Aging in the San Francisco Bay Area and the University of California Santa Barbara are among other California research institutes having difficulty obtaining money for research facilities.

"All three were planning to create stem cell research centers with a combination of private funds, loans and multimillion-dollar grants from the taxpayer-funded California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

"But banks considering the loans now say they do not have the liquidity needed to finance the construction. And some lenders question whether California's budget crisis, which is preventing the state from issuing bonds, could stall its promised financing."

Somers continued:

"In an interview yesterday, Malin Burnham, a member of the San Diego consortium's board, recalled a recent conversation he had with a local banker about a $70 million construction loan for the research facility.

"He said, 'Malin, I'd love to do that deal. I know and like all four of your institutions, but I don't have any money to lend. The situation may change in 30 to 45 days, but today I just don't have any liquidity,' Burnham said."

Somers' story includes information from last night's CIRM board meeting.

CIRM Directors Wrestle With Bad News and Funding for Training

Directors of the California stem cell agency have put off action until at least later today on requests for $66 million in training grants following briefings that sketched out what some directors characterized as a financial crisis for the research funding enterprise.

Most of the nearly six-hour board meeting Thursday afternoon and evening in Burlingame, Ca., was devoted to what CIRM Chairman Robert Klein called a "crisis environment." Ultimately some directors began to question whether the board should even take up the requests for the training program grants. Some argued that they should be deferred at least until March or perhaps April when the state government financial picture might be clearer.

Others argued that the CIRM board should move forward with approvals with a caveat that the grants would be funded only if money was available. CIRM did that on its first round of grants in 2005, when it also faced the inability to sell the state bonds that it relies on.

Director Sherry Lansing(see photo), a former Hollywood film studio executive, said the agency should act on the training grants. She said,

"If we don't, we are sending a clear message that we are out of business."

The financial pressure on CIRM was bad news for applicants in the second-ranked tier of applications. Normally some of those are funded along with those in the top tier, but the directors' new caution would appear to make that unlikely whenever the applications come up for approval.

The board will resume its meeting this morning. You can listen in via the instructions that can be found here. Our reporting on the meeting is based on what could be heard on what was the first-ever audio Webcast of a CIRM board meeting.

Dark Financial Outlook for CIRM Disclosed Tonight

The financial condition of California's $3 billion stem cell agency tonight appeared bleak and "daunting," based on briefings provided to its 29-member board of directors.

One director, Philip Pizzo, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine, at one point described the presentations as akin to "a route to darkness."

CIRM's financial plight is the result of California's inability to sell state bonds because of the state's $40 billion budget crisis. CIRM relies on bond sales for funding. It has approved $635 million in grants, many covering several years, but currently does not have the cash to fund all of them.

The CIRM staff went through a detailed financial presentation, based on what we heard on the first ever audio Webcast of a CIRM board meeting. However, many of the specifics were not clear because the PowerPoint presentations containing them could not be viewed.

Nonetheless, the overall financial situation seemed challenging, to say the least.

CIRM Chairman Robert Klein promoted his plan to sell state bonds privately, which would appear to be the first ever such effort in the nation. The discussions also disclosed that the state of California is moving to sell other state bonds privately as well, which could theoretically make the state and CIRM financial competitors. Klein said, however, potential buyers of the CIRM bonds are not likely to be targeted by the state treasurer's office.

The briefings disclosed that even if the state budget crisis were solved tomorrow, CIRM would face financial difficulties. That's because it takes time to bring bonds to market. Bonds supporting more critical needs would be sold well before the state would consider offering the CIRM bonds.

Sherry Lansing, a CIRM director and head of a nonprofit foundation bearing her name, said,

"I don't think there is any other choice...We would be irresponsible not to try to do this(sell bonds privately)."

Following the staff presentations, the board adjourned for dinner. At the time of this writing, they are gathering to resume their meeting and continue the financial discussions. The proceedings can be heard by using the directions in the items just below.

Let's Hear Some Comments on CIRM's First Ever Webcast of a Board Meeting

If you are tuned into the CIRM board Webcast this afternoon and evening, please let us know what you think of the effort, either its technical aspects or the deliberations or both. You can comment by clicking on the word "comment" below. Anonymous comments are permitted. Or you can send your comments directly to djensen@californiastemcellreport.com.

Update on CIRM Board Webcast

If you are having trouble accessing the CIRM board Webcast this afternoon, Don Gibbons, chief communications officer for CIRM, reports that the correct access code is 984696. We entered that number in both boxes on the ATT screen and appear to be connected. The actual meeting has not yet begun, not an unusual delay for CIRM board meetings.

New Instructions for CIRM Board Webcast

The California stem cell agency has posted fresh instructions on how to view the Webcast of its meeting today and Friday as well as those for listening in by telephone.

The main changes appear to be separate phone numbers for today and Friday. You can find the details here.