Ted Kennedy Backs Torres as CIRM Vice Chairman

Will the next vice chairman of the world's largest funding source for hESC research be Sen. Ted Kennedy's candidate or that of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger?

John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca., disclosed Kennedy's endorsement of Art Torres, the head of the California Democratic Party, on the Consumer Watchdog blog last week.

Contesting Torres for the vice chairmanship of the $3 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is Duane Roth, a current member of the CIRM board of directors, who was nominated by the Republican Schwarzenegger. Roth is also head of Connect, a San Diego area group supporting life science and technology businesses.

In a letter last month to CIRM Chairman Robert Klein, Kennedy said Torres is a friend of 37 years and declared that the former state lawmaker has an outstanding record of public service.

Torres' "years of advocacy for medical research and better health care for Californians will be a major asset" for CIRM, Kennedy said.

"A great deal is at stake," the Massachusetts Democrat said, "and I'm confident that Art Torres will make a difference for our country."

Simpson said he was not sure which candidate was best. Simpson wrote,

"The first task  for the ICOC (CIRM directors) is to define exactly what the vice chairman should be doing.  Both men need to offer a clear public statement of what he would bring to the position as well as his vision for the post." 

It is up to the 29-member CIRM board of directors to choose between Torres and Roth. No vote is yet scheduled.

CIRM's Financial Status, $500 Million Lending Program on the Table

Directors of the California stem cell agency next week will discuss how to run its ambitious and novel $500 million plan to lend money to the state's riskiest biotech ventures as well as the agency's own finances in the light of the Golden State's budget crisis.

The meeting of the Finance Subcommittee is scheduled for Jan. 21 at eight teleconference locations throughout the state. Businesses and others interested in the biotech loan effort should not miss the session.

Also on tap are plans to ask the Obama administration for loan guarantees that would, according to CIRM Chairman Robert Klein, enable CIRM to double its lending program to $1 billion.

No details are yet available on the agenda posted by CIRM on its web site.

Here is the information currently provided on the matters to be discussed:

"Consideration of policies and implementation plan/processes for CIRM loan program, including but not limited to the Loan Administration Policy and the role of delegated underwriters/financial service providers.

"Consideration of Stimulus Program topics

"Update on challenges of state finances and the impact on agency bond issues"

(Stimulus program topics are expected to include the loan guarantees.)

The loan program would target enterprises that cannot get normal financing because of their risk. Default rates are projected as high as 50 percent, but a $100 million "profit" is also expected. The excess is expected to be used for additional grants or loans.

Action taken at next week's meeting is likely to go before the full board of directors at its meeting on Jan. 29 in San Francisco.

The teleconference locations are in San Francisco(2), Menlo Park, La Jolla, Berkeley, Hillsborough, Irvine and Palo Alto. Specific addresses can be found on the agenda.

CIRM's $500 Million Loan Program: Lucrative Contract Looms

The California stem cell agency is seeking advice on its plan to have an outside contractor run a $500 million biotech lending program, and Friday is the deadline.

The information will play a key role in creating a potentially lucrative contract to administer the seven- to 10-year program for the $3 billion agency.

Banks, delegated underwriters and other financial service providers with an interest would be well-advised to weigh in with suggestions. The "request for information," however, is not limited to potential bidders but also solicits comments from "others with relevant experience or information."

CIRM is seeking information concerning the scope of services, models for relationships between "financial services providers/delegated underwriters" and CIRM, compensation structure and conflicts of interests.

CIRM is considering three possible models for the contractor:

"...a delegated underwriter model (delegated underwriter advances its own funds with CIRM guarantee), a hybrid model (delegated underwriter advances its own funds, but CIRM provides cash as collateral), and a fee for services model (CIRM originates loan and advances funds and pays financial services provider a fee for services)."

The stem cell agency states that its staff

"...does not have the internal expertise or capacity to manage all of the financial components of a loan program. CIRM therefore plans to externalize these tasks while maintaining ultimate control over the loan program. To ensure that CIRM obtains this expertise at the best value to California taxpayers, CIRM plans to issue a request for proposals to select two to three financial services providers/delegated underwriters. Because this is a start-up program, it is important to have at least two delegated underwriters at the outset. This would permit CIRM to learn from their different approaches and to refine our best practices. Furthermore, it would permit CIRM to transfer future transactions to another delegated underwriter if the relationship with one of the contractors is unsuccessful."

In February, CIRM plans to seek bids from potential contractors. The loan program is scheduled to begin this spring.

CIRM Begins Application Triage Experiment

The California stem cell agency is moving forward on its plan to perform closed-door, staff-connected triage on grant proposals before they move into the peer review process.

John M. Simpson, stem cell project director of Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca., reported on the action by CIRM directors on Tuesday. But he suggests an alternative that could serve CIRM's desire to reduce the number of applications on some grant rounds. Just open up the grant application process so that the public would know who is applying and hear the pros and cons on the applications.

Writing on his organization's blog, he said,

"It's our $3 billion that's being handed out. If you want our money, you ought to be willing to ask for it in public. Nothing builds more trust in a review process than having it completely transparent."

Simpson reported that Tuesday's special, teleconference board meeting failed to muster a quorum despite an attempt to set up multiple out-of-state locations for the convenience of traveling board members. Only 15 checked in. Nineteen are needed for a quorum. The full board has 29 members.

Failure to attain a quorum meant no action on the request by the International Society of Stem Cell Research for $400,000 to help finance its $1.5 million convention in San Francisco in 2010. It was the second time the board has failed to act on the request.

Here is a link to CIRM's four-page explanation of the triage proposal. The process will be applied in the $60 million basic biology round. The RFA should be posted before the end of this year with the "pre-applications" due towards the end of January.

Correction

The Dec. 22, 2008, item on the ISSCR grant request from the California stem cell agency incorrectly gave the figure as $420,000 as the result of erroneous information from CIRM. The correct figure is $400,000. The additional $20,000 appeared in the CIRM grant application from the ISSCR which we have been told automatically adds 5 percent "indirect costs" to the amount requested. However, the 5 percent does not apply in this case.

Correction

The "financial status" item on Dec. 22, 2008, incorrectly said that CIRM stated that its grant money will run out at the end of this coming June. As noted later in the item, CIRM said it can "cover grant commitments at least through July 2009."

Attention Scientists: CIRM Proposes Triage on Research Plans

The California stem cell agency is proposing a form of scientific triage on research proposals, weeding them out even before they get into the peer review process.

Up for consideration at tomorrow afternoon's CIRM board meeting, the pilot project could have major implications for stem cell researchers in California, allowing them to bypass screening committees at their institutions. The proposal also would create another layer in the closed-door CIRM grant approval process, vest major, new authority with the CIRM staff and push the CIRM board even further away from the de facto decisions on grant applications.

The plan has yet to be published by CIRM on its web site. However, Don Gibbons, CIRM's chief communications officer, made an electronic copy of the Power Point presentation available to the California Stem Cell Report. If you would like a copy, please email the California Stem Cell Report (djensen@californiastemcellreport.com) or CIRM (info@cirm.ca.gov).

The proposal would involve a "pre-application review" of proposals that would involve CIRM staff and two members of the grants review group. It is patterned after "comparable procedures from from the Gates Foundation/MJFF/NIH/Genome Canada."

Some members of the CIRM board of directors balked at the proposal earlier this month. CIRM staff is bringing it up again tomorrow with changes aimed at addressing directors' concerns.

One key reason behind the proposal is to help ease the workload of the scientists who come from out-of-state to review applications. Sometimes the number of applications have run into the hundreds, creating time-consuming situations where scientists are reluctant to devote their time.

It is also designed to ferret out applications that are nixed by institutions prior to coming to CIRM. Marie Csete, CIRM's chief scientific officer, said the agency has received complaints that the best science is not always getting to CIRM.

She told directors earlier this month that CIRM may "not be seeing the full range of science from young scientists."

The public can participate in the meeting from locations in San Francisco (3), Berkeley, Elk Grove, Healdsburg, Los Angeles (3), Koloa, Hi., Beverly Hills, Irvine (2), La Jolla (2), Stanford, Cornelius, NC, Sacramento, Philadelphia and Chicago. The out-of-state locations are presumably where some CIRM directors will be tomorrow afternoon but they are still legally public as far as CIRM meetings go. The specific addresses can be found on the meeting agenda.

Stem Cell Science Group Seeks $400,000 From CIRM

Consumer Watchdog calls it "unbelievable" and "a flagrant squandering of public money." The group says it serves no purpose other "than to inflate the already healthy egos of CIRM's globe-trotting executives "

The language comes from John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for the Santa Monica, Ca., group. Writing on the group's blog, he refers to a pitch by the prestigious International Society for Stem Cell Research for $400,000 from CIRM to pay for 28 percent of the cost of the society's 2010 convention in San Francisco.

Tomorrow afternoon, the grant request will be considered by the CIRM board of directors at a special teleconference meeting. Multiple locations are available throughout the state and even outside of the state where the public can comment.

The request first came before the board earlier this month with no written explanation or detailed justification of benefits to the state of California. Directors told CIRM staff to provide more details if funding was to be seriously considered.

CIRM has close ties to ISSCR. CIRM President Alan Trounson is on the board of directors of the society. CIRM Chairman Robert Klein was a member of an advisory committee to ISCCR in 2007, according to The Niche, Nature magazine's stem cell blog. Don Gibbons, CIRM's chief communications officer, is a member of the group's public education committee.

The request for the grant is signed by Irv Weissman of Stanford, whose medical school dean is on the CIRM board of directors. Weissman will be president of the group in 2009. Stanford has received $95 million in grants from CIRM. Weissman has received $2.6 million.

It is not uncommon for professional organizations to seek some sort of financial assistance from enterprises whose executives serve on the professional group's board of directors.

However, the timing on this pitch is unfortunate, to say the least, given the $40 billion California budget shortfall. Moreover, funding of the convention seems a tad lavish. For example, it includes $235,000 for marketing expenses, a figure that seems more appropriate for MacWorld than a gathering of stem cell researchers.

Even in brighter times, a $400,000 donation from the state would be dubious. Today it cannot be justified unless CIRM wants to chalk up some serious minus points with the folks in the state Capitol and with the public at large.

The public can participate in the meeting from locations in San Francisco (3), Berkeley, Elk Grove, Healdsburg, Los Angeles (3), Koloa, Hi., Beverly Hills, Irvine (2), La Jolla (2), Stanford, Cornelius, NC, Sacramento, Philadelphia and Chicago. The out-of-state locations are presumably where some CIRM directors will be tomorrow afternoon but they are still legally public as far as CIRM meetings go. The specific addresses can be found on the meeting agenda.

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this item incorrectly stated that the ISSCR grant request totalled $420,000. The erroneous information came from CIRM. The additional $20,000 appeared in the CIRM grant application from the ISSCR which we have been told automatically adds 5 percent "indirect costs" to the amount requested. However, the 5 percent does not apply in this case. )

CIRM Clarifies Its Financial Status: Grant Money Could Run Out by June

How long can CIRM continue to operate at full strength given the current state of California's fiscal crisis?

According to CIRM, the agency can cover its "grant commitments" through the end of next July and perhaps longer. After that, the agency will have only enough money to monitor existing grants and perform other "office operations" for another 12 months.

The response came from Don Gibbons, chief communications officer for CIRM. We asked him to clarify apparent discrepancies in CIRM's financial status that were posed in the item below.

The matter is of some import since the state of California has suspended the issuance of state bonds because of the budget stalemate in Sacramento. Bonds constitute virtually the only source of funding for CIRM.

However, we think it is highly unlikely that bond sales will be suspended for the next six months. The state's budget problems should not be minimized, but a solution is almost certain to be found before June. If not, CIRM funding will be among the least of the worries in California.

More to the point is the fact that CIRM enjoys a favored financial position while the rest of state government is struggling. That situation poses PR and policy problems for CIRM that we have discussed previously.

For the record, here is Gibbons' response to questions about CIRM's financial status. They involved the $168.9 million CIRM budget figure in a San Francisco Business Times article and a $160 million figure given to us by Robert Klein, chairman of the stem cell agency. They also involved Gibbons' statement in the Times article that said CIRM had enough to fund office operations until July 2010. Gibbons replied:

"Both are correct. We have enough to cover grant commitments at least through July 2009, but will still have enough in reserve to fund 'office operations' for another year so that we can continue to monitor existing grants, manage the standards review processes, etc."

Gibbons did not respond to our question concerning CIRM's reaction to the governor's request for a 10 percent payroll reduction and mandatory furloughs that amount to a 9 percent salary cut.

(Editor's note: In an earlier version of this item, the second paragraph incorrectly reported that CIRM said its grant money would run out at the end of next June. The next to the last paragraph has also been rewritten to clarify that there were two elements in the question placed to Gibbons.)

Layoffs Loom at California State Agencies, Not Likely at CIRM

More details about the financial condition of the California stem cell agency are emerging as sweeping layoffs and pay cuts have been ordered at other state agencies.

On Friday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said 238,000 state employees must take what amounts to a 9 percent pay cut via mandatory, unpaid furloughs. He also ordered payroll cuts that amount to 10 percent, beginning Feb. 1.

The governor asked state agencies that he cannot directly control, such as the University of California and CIRM, to take similar action.

Also on Friday, Ron Leuty of the San Francisco Business Times reported:

"The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine next month will weigh a contingency financing plan that could include bond anticipation notes and a private placement with major philanthropic backers.

"The move, which would have to be approved by the state stem cell bond committee and Treasurer Bill Lockyer, comes against the backdrop of a financial markets meltdown that has clipped access to capital for companies and government agencies alike."

Leuty continued:

"CIRM has $168.9 million on hand, said spokesman Don Gibbons, and has enough to fund office operations until July 2010."

That statement is somewhat at variance with figures provided by California stem cell Chairman Robert Klein. He told the California Stem Cell Report earlier this month at the meeting of the CIRM board of directors at UC Irvine that $160 million was available between now and the end of June.

We are querying CIRM concerning the discrepancy and the governor's payroll cuts.

However, CIRM has been chronically understaffed since its inception and actually needs to hire more employees to bring it up to its legal cap of 50, which is tiny compared to the magnitude of running a program that has now awarded more than $600 million in building and research grants. The agency has already indicated it wants to add the much-needed employees, and, in our view, is not likely to roll back staffing levels

Leuty also had an interesting financial tidbit concerning Klein, who says that he has spent personally $6.5 million on behalf of Prop. 71 and CIRM.

Leuty wrote:

"Klein, who operates a financial advisory firm in Palo Alto, said he spent $5.5 million shepherding Proposition 71 through approval and has swallowed $1 million in CIRM-related costs since then while working 40-hour-plus workweeks as chairman."

CIRM Responds to Financial Disparity Questions

The California stem cell agency has responded to questions involving the cutbacks and issues raised in the "Handouts vs. Cutbacks" item below.

Don Gibbons, chief communications officer for CIRM, said Klein is not personally affected by the cuts in funding for affordable housing.

We also asked:

"Does CIRM have anything to say about whether it is appropriate for it to continue handing out tens of millions of dollars or more while facilities for the deaf go unfunded and cutbacks are made in levee reinforcement to protect Sacramento from becoming another Katrina-like disaster, among the thousands of other affected projects?"

Gibbons complete response, which are carrying word-for-word, was:

"The projects being frozen are funded through Pooled Money Investment accounts and CIRM has less than $2 million in that fund.  CIRM bonds have delayed repayment schedules, so have no impact at all on this year’s budget."

Handouts vs. Cutbacks: Strange Financial Tales from the Golden State

Citing the state's severe financial problems, California officials Wednesday shut down $3.8 billion in cash for public works projects, including some closely connected to directors of the state's stem cell agency. The action came coincidentally just one week after the agency gave away $20 million in state funds to stem cell researchers.

The cuts in bond-financed programs struck at projects to aid both the deaf and ailing veterans as well as to assist in genomics research. Also hit were construction projects at medical facilities at UC Davis and UC San Diego, both of which have representatives on the CIRM board.

Funding for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of housing projects was halted, raising the possibility that the moves could personally affect CIRM Chairman Bob Klein, whose real estate investment banking firm specializes in affordable housing.

CIRM spending, however, is a mere piffle compared to the state's $40 billion budget shortfall. But their financial disparity highlights the stem cell agency's unusual nature and the public policy issues that arise when ballot initiatives lock up state funds and create a favored place for some state programs.

The stem cell agency enjoys a relatively rosy position compared to nearly all other state departments. As the result of Prop. 71, which altered the state constitution and state law, CIRM is assured of state bond funding that goes directly to the agency and which cannot be touched by the governor or the legislature. In response to questions from CIRM directors last week, Klein said that the agency had enough money to operate normally at least until the end of June next year. Compare that to predictions that California will not be able to pay its bills by the end of February.

CIRM currently is drawing its cash primarily from the proceeds of a $250 million bond offering that was completed in the fall of 2007.

However, the state is not currently issuing any additional bonds because of the state's budget crisis, which includes $60 billion in debt and the worst credit rating of any state in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Without additional funding, CIRM could run out of money at some point. However, Klein last week told the California Stem Cell Report that CIRM has $160 million to tide it over through the end of June. He also said he is working on a private placement plan for CIRM funding, just in case. Klein said he has already identified some potential participants although he did not spell out details.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California lawmakers are wrestling with the budget crisis but have a long history of financial fumbling. At the heart of their failures is a daunting requirement that the legislature must pass a budget or increase taxes only with a two-thirds vote. That gives a minority extraordinary power. In California's case, Republican legislators stand in the way as they have for decades, chanting a mantra of no-new-taxes regardless of the state's needs.

Putting together solutions that will right the foundering Golden State will require compromise and policy changes that ultimately may affect such privileged endeavors as the state stem cell agency. Good arguments exist for steady funding of any sort of scientific research, much less stem cells. But good arguments also exist for steady funding of the state's now troubled institutions of higher learning, once an example for the nation, as well as many other laudable state programs.

CIRM must step carefully in the next few months to avoid becoming a symbol of what is wrong with much of California state government and its finances.

(Note: We have asked CIRM for comment on the issues raised by the disparity between its financial condition and that of the state. We have also asked whether Klein is affected by the housing cuts. We will carry CIRM's response when we receive it. Additionally, the San Francisco Chronicle carried a report this morning that the cutbacks would affect the "state's stem cell research center in San Francisco." No further details were provided, and we could not find anything to support that in the list of projects from the treasurer's office that we reviewed.)

'Armageddon' and Klein's Salary

The new salary for the chairman of the California stem cell agency, Robert Klein, has caught the attention of Nature magazine, which headlined its article on the subject: "Salary for CIRM head despite deficit, Outcry as stem cell agency puts chairman on payroll."

Erika Check Hayden wrote that CIRM directors approved the $150,000, halftime salary "even as the state plunges deeper into financial crisis." The term "financial Armageddon" also was quoted as coming from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had expressed "deep concern" about the possibility of a salary prior to its approval last Wednesday by directors.

Nature magazine says it has 377,443 readers worldwide, mostly senior scientists and executives.

UCSF Snags $25 Million Stem Cell Donation

Despite the nation's financial woes, some philanthropists continue to pump out money with the latest coming from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation for the benefit of UC San Francisco's stem cell laboratory.

Broad, who made his fortune in home building and insurance, popped for $25 million on Wednesday. That brought his total for California stem cell research buildings to $75 million. He previously gave $20 million to UCLA and $30 million to USC.

Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote:

"The Broad Foundation donation, combined with a $35 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and a $16 million donation from Ray and Dagmar Dolby, means UCSF must raise another $47 million to complete funding for the new facility(see photo)."

Broad's contribution now brings him up to the level reached earlier this year by Lorry Lokey, founder of the Business Wire, who has funneled $75 million to Stanford for its stem cell work.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared for the UCSF announcement event along with CIRM Chairman Robert Klein. The donation garnered coverage throughout the state, including reports on television, which almost never covers the California stem cell agency. Google reported about 200 stories at different locations, including Taiwan and Australia. Most of those were the version from The Associated Press.

Richard Paddock of the Los Angeles Times wrote:

"Broad said that his foundation's investments have not suffered as much as other charitable foundations and that it would continue to meet its commitments.

"'I never thought I would say something like this, but we are blessed to be down less than 20%,' he said. 'So, we are going to keep on doing what we're doing and we'll look for better times.'"

Fresh Comment

David Serrano Sewell, a member of the board of directors of the California stem cell agency, has posted a comment on the item below, "Directors to Define Vice Chair Job...." One of his points is that the vice-chair election is not just about salary. I agree. It involves much more, including an as-yet-to-be-determined, clear expression from the full board about the scope of the job. We will have more on the subject of the vice chair's election in coming weeks.

How Would California Stem Cell Backers Do It Differently?

California's Little Hoover Commission, which is looking into governance and conflict of interest issues involving the $3 billion California stem cell agency, has raised some interesting questions that it wants answered in writing.

The questions are the subject of a meeting this Friday afternoon of a meeting of the Legislative Subcommittee of the CIRM board of directors.

In a Nov. 26 letter to CIRM Chairman Robert Klein, Stuart Drown, executive director of the bipartisan state agency, said:

"We’d like to follow up on the discussion about governance that came up during your testimony, in which you agreed to submit additional written remarks in response to Commissioner Loren Kaye’s questions:

"Would you write anything differently in the initiative, particularly in the governance area regarding the structure of the board, the composition, the ratio of independent or outside directors to the interested directors, the appointment processes, removal, conflicts? Is there anything you would, based on your practice now, do differently?

"Are there further changes, since the 2005 adjustments, that you would make now?

"Given the Institute’s very large board of busy people, do you think the ratio of the authority between you and the board as a whole is appropriate?

"The Commission would appreciate your response by December 15."

CIRM said Klein scheduled the meeting of the legislative committee in order to receive input from directors before responding to the Little Hoover request.

If you are interested in hearing the discussion or making comments, teleconference location sites can be found in San Francisco(two sites), Sacramento, Menlo Park, Healdsburg, Elk Grove and Palo Alto. The specific addresses can be found on the agenda. Locations may be changed or added so check the agenda for the latest information.

CIRM Directors To Define Vice Chair Job and Executive Evaluation Process

Directors of the $3 billion California stem cell agency expect to add some finishing details next week to employment arrangements with its chairman, Robert Klein, along with those of the vice chairman and the president.

On Monday, the directors' Governance Subcommittee, chaired by former Hollywood studio executive Sherry Lansing, will consider how they intend to evaluate the performance of Klein, CIRM President Alan Trounson and whomever fills the now-vacant vice chairmanship of the board of directors.

Last week, the board decided the position of chairman is a halftime job and agreed to pay Klein $150,000 a year. Klein, a multimillionaire real estate investment banker, said current economic conditions had compelled him to seek a salary. Klein had worked for free during the last four years.

At its meeting at UC Irvine last week, the CIRM board deftly sidestepped potentially negative fallout from from the pay matter. The issue had become somewhat charged after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed "deep concern" concerning the salary reports.

Under CIRM's salary ranges, if Klein were to serve fulltime, he would be entitled to as much as half-a-million dollars-a-year, which could raise PR and policy issues at a time when California is facing an economic crisis.

In an interview Tuesday, Lansing said Klein is entitled to fringe benefits provided to all state employees but that he will not receive performance awards or merit pay under the compensation plan for CIRM employees.

Actions next week on the vice chairman's position could also help to determine who is likely to fill that slot. Next year, CIRM directors will choose a vice chairman between two candidates: Art Torres(left photo), currently head of the state Democratic Party, and Duane Roth(right photo), who currently serves on the CIRM board and is head of Connect, a San Diego businesses development organization with close ties to the life science industry.

Lansing said that the subcommittee will discuss duties of the vice chairman and what his responsibilities are likely to involve. One question that may come up is whether the board should approve a salary for the job. CIRM salary ranges provide for $180,000 to $332,000 for the position.

Roth says he will not seek compensation as vice chairman. Torres says he will need a salary.

Teleconference locations for the meeting where the public can sit in and comment are available throughout the state: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Stanford, Sacramento, La Jolla and Irvine. The specific addresses can be found on the agenda. They may change or increase before the Monday meeting so it is good to check in advance.

CIRM Panel to Consider Hoover Questions

California stem cell Chairman Robert Klein is seeking some help this Friday from members of the agency's board of directors in connection with the Little Hoover Commission's inquiry into the $3 billion research effort.

Members of the public will also have a chance to comment at several teleconference locations throughout California. The forum is a meeting of the directors' Legislative Subcommittee. The agenda item reads: "Consideration of request from Little Hoover Commission for additional information regarding CIRM governance, board appointment structure, and other policies."

We have been told that the Little Hoover Commission, a bipartisan state agency devoted to improving the performance of government, posed questions on which Klein is seeking board input.

The current teleconference locations are in San Francisco, Sacramento, Healdsburg, Irvine, Elk Grove and Palo Alto. More may be added before the day of the meeting or even on the day of the meeting. The current listing and specific addresses can be found on the agenda.

Business Snags $5.3 Million from CIRM

IRVINE, Ca. -- Six California companies snapped up $5.3 million last week in grants from the California stem cell agency, marking the first major industry funding from the $3 billion state research enterprise.

Up until the latest round of grants, only one company, Novocell Inc. of San Diego, had won a grant and that was for only $50,000.

However, the CIRM board did not approve business applications at the same rate as those from the nonprofit sector. Only one out of seven business proposals (41 in all) won approval last week compared to one out five nonprofit pitches(77 in all).

(The board put off action until next month on some grants so the figures could change when final action is taken.)

The six companies snagged about 26 percent of the nearly $20 million in grants for developing research tools and technology. The six also represented about 26 percent of the 23 grants that were approved.

CIRM President Alan Trounson said,

"These awards represent the entry of the biotechnology industry into CIRM-funded initiatives to accelerate progress."

Nonetheless, other companies appeared at the CIRM board meeting here to complain about the fairness of the review process, which they said was tilted towards academia. One company, DNAmicroarray Inc. of San Diego, suggested changes in definitions for "principal investigator" on grant applications that would reflect differences between business and the nonprofit sector.

Here are the companies and their awards:

VistaGen Therapeutics of South San Francisco, $971,558, PI Kristina Bonham; Fluidigm Corp. also of South San Francisco, $749, 520, PI Marc Unger; Gamma Medica-Ideas of Northridge, Ca., $949,748, PI Douglas Jay Wagenaar; Novocell Inc.of San Diego, $827,072, PI Evert Johan Kroon; Invitrogen of Carlsbad, $869,262, PI Ying Liu, and Vala Sciences of San Diego, $906,629, PI Patrick McDonough.

As of this morning, only one of the companies had generated a press releases about its CIRM grant, while at least some of the academic grant recipients were online as early as Wednesday with their good news. The release by Vala said, among other things, that its grant will be executed in close collaboration with laboratories at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research led by Vincent Chen and Mark Mercola.

Last week's meeting also marked the first time that CIRM directors allowed "extraordinary petitions" to challenge negative decisions on applications by the Grants Working Group. Three were received in time to be considered. Three others were also received but not by the deadline for consideration by CIRM staff and the board. The deadline falls five working days before the board meeting..

In each of the three cases, CIRM President Trounson said he could not find "compelling evidence" to change the score of the application or the decision of the working group. The full board can bring up petitions for public discussion but did not choose to do so.

Two petitions were filed by private businesses, International Stem Cell Corp. of Oceanside and DNAmicroarray Inc. of San Diego and one by the Salk Institute of La Jolla. Here are links to the petitions: International Stem Cell (filed by Jeffrey Janus, president, and William Adams, CFO), DNAmicroarray (filed by Babak Esmaeli-Azad, president) and Salk (filed by Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, professor, Gene Expression Laboratory).

Adams also appeared before the CIRM board, citing "fundamental problems" involving the way business applications were treated. Some members of the board have expressed sympathy with the view that there is a tilt towards academia in the review process. CIRM is attempting to find more grant reviewers with a business background.

Reporter Terri Somers of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote a story on the business grants. Bruce Bigelow of Xconomy.com also had a brief item, declaring that CIRM had "opened its spigot for funding business ventures."

Klein's Salary: News Coverage is Modest

IRVINE, Ca. -- Approval of a $150,000, half-time salary for CIRM Chairman Robert Klein generated light news coverage both Wednesday and today.

The San Diego Union-Tribune actually had a reporter, Terri Somers, on the scene here in Irvine, where CIRM directors met the last two days. It was the only mainstream media outlet to cover the session, which included more far-reaching decisions than salary matters, such as an aggressive plan to spend $210 million to push development of clinical therapies.

Somers' story quoted Klein, Duane Roth, who has been nominated for the vice chairman's job, and John M. Simpson, stem cell project director of Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca., on the salary issue.

Simpson, who has looked at askance at high salaries at CIRM, said the most important matter was not the money for Klein but the fact that board defined the chairman's job as half-time. Prop. 71 gives the chairman a host of responsibilities, some of which conflict with the president's. Klein also has very much acted as an executive chairman, including micro-managing details at CIRM, according to some observers.

Other stories were written by Shane Goldmacher of The Sacramento Bee and Ron Leuty of the San Francisco Business Times. Here are links to Leuty's story and Goldmacher's account.

The continuing light news coverage of CIRM is a sign of the hard economic times at the mainstream media, particularly newspapers. It also reflects the declining novelty factor at CIRM. The organization was created four years ago by voters and now is approaching the news value level of nearly all state agencies. And that is virtually nil.

Traditionally state agencies, with rare exceptions, are all but ignored by the mainstream media. Given the difficult decisions news organizations currently must make concerning deployment of ever declining resources (reporters), coverage of CIRM is certain to shrivel in the future. The exception would be a scandal or a major scientific breakthrough.