Thursday, July 25, 2013
Stem Cell Agency Board Concludes Meeting
The governing board of the California stem cell agency concluded its meeting today at 2:33 p.m. PDT. The California Stem Cell Report has also concluded its coverage today's session.
CIRM Posts Alpha Clinic Press Release
The California stem cell agency this afternoon posted its press release on the $70 million Alpha stem cell clinic plan. Here is where it can be found.
Another $23 Million to Recruit Star Stem Cell Scientists to California
California's $46 million effort to lure
stem cell research stars to the Golden State was expanded today by
another $23 million.
Directors of the stem cell agency
approved the funds on a 14-4-1 vote. CIRM directors Jeff Sheehy and
Francisco Prieto were among those opposing the move. Prieto declared,
“We are coming up against finite resources. We have better ways to spend our money."Sheehy said that CIRM is contributing to inflation in stem cell science with its lucrative recruitment grants.
Those supporting the expansion said that the grants have had a great impact on the field, not only bringing in individual scientists, but accompanying researchers in their labs along with grants from other sources.
The additional funds will go to
institutions that have not already benefited from one of the earlier
grants in the program. Up to four awards are expected to be made.
The CIRM staff proposal on the plan
said,
“A number of California institutions have not yet been able to secure a confirmed Research Leadership award but would benefit greatly from the recruitment of emerging or established leaders in stem cell biology. Participation in the CIRM program could bring additional, exceptional researchers to California, strengthen and synergize with other efforts to build up local sustained research communities in stem cell biology and medicine and provide ongoing leadership at the cutting edge of California regenerative medicine.”
All of the California institutions
involved with the winning researchers have representatives on the
governing board of the stem cell agency. They are not allowed, however, to vote
on grants to their institutions or researchers -- only on proposals such as today's $23 expansion.
Applications are due in January with
final approval scheduled for next May. The program is not open to
businesses.
$35 Million Research Grant Round to Remove Stem Cell Roadblocks
Directors of the California stem cell
agency today approved a $35 million program aimed at removing
bottlenecks to pushing stem cell therapies into the marketplace.
The plan would provide grants of up$1.2 million for about 20 awards with competition open to both
business and non-profit institutions. Pre-applications are expected
to be due in October with approval next summer.
California Stem Cell Agency Launches $70 Million Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Project
The 29-member governing board of the California
Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)adopted the plan on a 19-1 vote. The negative vote came from Joan Samuelson, who questioned
whether the plan was premature and whether existing scientific research justified development of the clinics.
Sherry Lansing, a patient advocate board member and
former head of a Hollywood studio, said the proposal is “one of the
most exciting proposals that we have ever had in front of us.” She
said it was the “beginning of this dream coming true.”
Under the far-reaching proposal, which
CIRM President Alan Trounson has been promoting for two years, the
agency will finance five stem cell clinics at established
institutions in California with grants of up to $11 million. Another
$15 million will be allotted for a stem cell information and
coordination center. Major matching contributions will be expected
from award winners over the five-year terms of the grants.
The effort is aimed at drawing in
clinical trials and patients from the around the world and creating a
central bank of knowledge, know-how and regulatory expertise. It
will also guide efforts to build profits into stem cell therapies
and to develop strategies to attract investors and philanthropists.
(For more information on the plan, see here, here, here, here and
here.)
Trounson said in a statement,
“These clinics have the potential to revolutionize how we deliver stem cell therapies to patients. Stem cell therapies are a completely new way of treating diseases and disorders so we need a completely new way of delivering those in a safe and effective manner. These clinics will help us do just that and the clinical trials carried out in this network will fulfill the agency’s promise of bringing new therapies to patients who need them.”
The journal Nature Medicine has
reported that the Alpha clinics would be the first-ever “clinical
trials network focused around a broad therapeutic platform.”
The CIRM board heard no negative
comment on the plan other than the remarks by Samuelson. . However,
not everyone sees a need for it. Mahendra Rao, director of the Center
for Regenerative Medicine at the National Institutes of
Health(NIH) , says its surveys of researchers have not shown a demand
for such centers. In May, a researcher at institution that likely
would be an applicant filed a blistering, anonymous comment on the
California Stem Cell Report, describing it as a "boondoggle" and "irresponsible." The scientist said,
“Another boondoggle for some medical schools but made to order for private operators like for-profit cancer, dialysis, and laser eye specialty clinics that do one procedure. I can see each of the medical schools gifted with one as they each were gifted with about 25 million dollars for stem cell institute buildings.”
The researcher continued,
“The NIH at various times has tried to organize clinical trials groups with infrastructure, like quick reaction forces, ready to gear up for a new trial at the drop of a hat. They mainly did nothing but suck money, kept staff employed, because there are generally few drugs ready for early human trials and each treatment that is brought along requires a unique contract, ethics reviews, and different facilities, equipment and staff than planned for. The latest incarnation are CTSAs or CTSIs, clinical and translational science centers funded by the federal NIH that most if not all California medical schools already have.”
The RFA for the proposal is expected to
go out in October and approval of funding coming one year from now. Here is the link to today's CIRM press release on the plan.
Alpha Clinic Applicant Qualifications
Stem Cell Directors Take Up $70 Million Alpha Clinic Proposal
California Stem Cell Agency Has $577 Million Remaining for New Research Awards Out of $3 Billion
The figure was reported by CIRM staff this morning as part of its regular briefing on the financial status of the research effort, which began work in 2004 with $3 billion that the state is borrowing through issuance of state bonds. The method of funding will cost roughly $3 billion more in interest costs.
The agency expects to run out of funds for new grants late in 2017 and is considering ways to raise cash for future operations..
.
Stem Cell Directors Begin Meeting with Report from Alan Trounson
Today's meeting of the governing board of the California stem cell agency began at 9:35 a.m. today with a a report from chairman J.T. Thomas, updating the board on his activities. CIRM President Alan Trounson has now begun his report dealing with stem cell research publications over the last few months.
California Stem Cell Board Meeting Delayed
The business portion of today's meeting of the governing board of the California stem cell agency was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. PDT. However, that session has been delayed as the board hears a presentation on MS. The business session may begin about 15 minutes or so.
Coming Up: Live Coverage of Today's California Stem Cell Meeting
The California Stem Cell Report will
provide live, wall-to-wall coverage of today's meeting of the
governing board of the $3 billion California stem cell agency.
At the top of the agenda is a $70
million proposal aimed at creating a string of Alpha stem cell clinics in
California that would serve as a foundation for the state's stem cell
business. Also on tap are other proposed grant programs, including a
$23 million expansion of a researcher recruitment effort and a $35 million round aimed at removing roadblocks to turning research into
cures.
Stories will be filed as warranted
throughout the day based on the Internet audiocast of the proceedings.
Interested parties can also listen in
on the meeting via the Internet. Instructions can be found on the agenda.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Stem Cell Lines and Paid-for Eggs: Stem Cell Agency Delays Action on Easing Restrictions
A key panel of the California stem cell
agency today balked at approving a plan to ease restrictions on
using stem cell lines derived from women who were paid for their
eggs.
The proposal had been scheduled to be
taken up tomorrow by the governing board of the $3 billion agency,
but the board's standards working group delayed action.
In response to a question, Kevin
McCormack, a spokesman for the agency, said in an email,
“It was felt that more discussion was needed before moving to a vote so another meeting is going to be scheduled.”
In 2006, the CIRM governing board
approved regulations that banned the use of CIRM funds for stem cells
lines derived using compensation. That rule would be modified under
today's plan, which would permit the CIRM governing board to approve
the use of such lines following a staff study evaluating scientific and ethical issues.
Their use would be allowed if the lines would “advance CIRM's
mission.”
The delay came after four organizations, including the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley, argued that the plan is vague and did not adequately address safety issues.
The four-page statement by the groups
said that the plan does not appear to have met “numerous concerns”
raised in 2009 in a document co-authored by the CIRM staff. Those
concerns include long-term risk and ethical issues.
Under the proposal, the groups said
that the agency governing board
“...will decide whether to approve a grantee’s request to use a stem cell line created with paid-for eggs on the basis of whether doing so 'will advance CIRM’s mission.' This criterion is much too vague, and doesn’t include consideration of the health or welfare of the women who undergo egg retrieval. Protecting the well-being of women providing eggs is not even mentioned (though perhaps it could be considered as an element of the fifth of five 'factors to be considered by the ICOC(the agency board),' 'whether the donation…was consistent with `best practices’ at the time of donation').”The standards group also heard from a UCLA researcher who argued on behalf of the change. Kathrin Plath said she and her colleagues wanted to use a paid-for stem cell line from the Oregon experiment that cloned human stem cells.
(An earlier version of this item said the change under consideration would ease restrictions on "purchasing" stem cell lines. The word "purchasing" was changed to "using.")
Here is the text of the statement by
the four organizations.
$70 Million Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Project Garners Mainstream Media Attention
California's $70 million plan for a
chain of “Alpha” stem cell clinics today received its first major
attention from the mainstream media.
The story came in the state's largest
circulation newspaper, appearing this morning on the home page of the
website of Los Angeles Times.
The Alpha project would create five clinics
around the state and a coordination/information center under a
concept that comes before the governing board of the state's $3
billion stem cell agency at its meeting tomorrow in Burlingame, Ca. Funds could be
awarded as early as a year from now. (For more information, see here
and here.)
Reporter Eryn Brown quoted Natalie
DeWitt, special projects officer for CIRM, as the stem cell agency is known, and Maria Millan, a CIRM
medical officer. Brown wrote,
“Clinics to conduct trials of stem cell therapies have different needs than clinics designed to deliver conventional therapies, DeWitt and Millan said. They need special facilities for handling the cells safely, as well as imaging equipment to track the cells once they're delivered into a patient’s body. Some of this infrastructure already exists, but other parts of it still need to be perfected. Establishing clinics to house multiple trials might create the critical mass needed to get the infrastructure in place, they said....
"Additionally, they said, CIRM hopes that such collaboration would encourage stem cell companies to share information -- speeding their own work and also helping out policymakers and insurers who are trying to figure out how they'll pay for stem cell therapies in the future.”
The Times quoted the
California Stem Cell Report as saying last week,
“The Alpha clinics are aimed at creation of a sturdy foundation for the stem cell industry in California, capitalizing on the burgeoning, international lure of stem cell treatments.”
The proposal envisions Alpha stem cell
clinics at major, established institutions around the state. It is
possible that two could be located in the Los Angeles area at
institutions such as UCLA, USC, Cedars-Sinai or the City of Hope, all
of which have representatives on the stem cell agency's governing
board. Other likely locations are in the San Francisco Bay area and
San Diego, again at facilities such as Stanford, UC San Francisco and
UC San Diego that have representation on the agency board.
Institutions competing for the grants,
including businesses, will be subject to closed-door. peer review
prior to final action by the full governing board.
UCLA Researcher Calls for Easing of Restrictions on Stem Cell Lines Derived from Eggs From Paid Providers
A UCLA researcher has spoken out in
support of a proposal to allow use of California stem cell agency
funds to purchase stem cell lines derived from eggs provided by women
who have been paid for the service.
Kathrin Plath, an associate professor, said in a letter to the agency that she and her colleagues would like to use a line from the Oregon SCNT
experiment by Shoukhrat Mitalipov in which human stem cells were cloned. Currently agency funds cannot be used for that purpose as
a result of regulations that are the extension of a state law that
bars use of agency funds for payment for eggs.
The agency's standards group meets later today to consider changing those regulations. The proposal will
then go before the full board tomorrow.
Plath, who has received $5 million from CIRM, said,
“In my lab, we are ... interested in understanding what happens to the somatically silenced X chromosome when differentiated cells are reprogrammed by SCNT. The key question is: are these SCNT-ESCs more similar to iPSCs or fertilization-derived ESCs with respect to the epigenetic state of the X chromosome. Furthermore, it has been shown in mouse reprogramming that the active X chromosome becomes deregulated during SCNT-based reprogramming, and we would like to address this problem in the human system as well.
“We believe that the comparison of the epigenetic states between fertilization-derived ESCs, SCNT-ESCs and human iPSCs is important for a better characterization of these cells and understanding of their epigenetic nature.”
Co-vice Chairman of California Stem Cell Agency Remains in Critical Condition
Duane Roth, the co-vice chairman of the
California stem cell agency, remains in critical condition with brain
injuries following a weekend bicycle accident.
According to a report by Bradley Fikes
in the San Diego U-T, Roth's family is preparing for a recovery that
will take weeks. Roth is currently in a medically induced coma.
Roth's wife, Renee, released a
statement through the UC San Diego Medical Center that said,
“His condition is currently listed as critical. Duane is in the great hands of the university’s doctors and nurses and we are very happy with the outstanding care he is receiving. We do ask that our privacy be respected as Duane heals. We will be in touch to share more.”
The accident occurred Sunday in the
mountains east of San Diego when Roth hit a rocky embankment or
outcropping and his helmet split open on the impact.
Roth is CEO of Connect, a technology
business group. He has served on the stem cell agency board since
2006.
(An earlier version of this item incorrectly described Roth as CEO of Current instead of Connect.)
(An earlier version of this item incorrectly described Roth as CEO of Current instead of Connect.)
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Correct Link to CIRM Report on Business Aspects of Alpha Clinics
The "Inside Alpha Clinics' Business" item yesterday had a bad link to the CIRM report on the proposal. Here is the correct link. A thank you to Kevin McCormack of CIRM for pointing this out.
How to Stay On Top of California's Stem Cell Research Cash Cow -- At Least This Week
Persons interested in listening to
Thursday's hearing on California's $70 million “Alpha” stem clinic proposal can do so by two different methods via the Internet.
In addition to Internet access, the
public can participate in the meeting in Burlingame, Ca., and also at
two teleconference locations in Los Angeles. The Internet access does
not allow two-way participation.
If you have money in the game, our
advice is to attend the meeting in Burlingame. Only a handful of
business people and scientists attend the agency's governing board
meetings, but they seem to benefit from the information and
discussion as well as from the ability to meet face-to-face with CIRM officials
and board members.
Of particular interest may be a
scheduled discussion of CIRM's goals and direction this year and next along with
other proposals that will funnel $128 million to researchers in California, including the clinic plan.
If stem cell agency fans do not have
time to sit through the day-long proceedings, they can follow
developments via the California Stem Cell Report, which will be
covering the meeting live via the Internet and filing stories as warranted.
Instructions for Internet access can be
found on the meeting agenda. One method is a relatively
straightforward audiocast. The other involves WebEx, which may
involve some configuration of your computer. However, the method also
shows the Power Point presentations that are used during the meeting
and are otherwise not available in advance or on the day of the
meeting. They often contain valuable information that informs the
discussions of the board of the $3 billion agency.
In either case, you will want to check
out the procedures in advance if you have not used them before. The
dial-in number for the audiocast is 866-320-4708 with the password of
297273. Here is the link for the WebEx connection:
https://cirm.webex.com/cirm/onstage/g.php?d=286602980&t=a&EA=acheung%40c...
As for the teleconference locations,
the specific addresses are on the agenda. But you should ask in
advance for more information on the Cedars-Sinai location to be sure
you can find it on the day of the meeting. The Cedars complex is very
large.
Tomorrow the agency's standards group
will take up a proposal to allow CIRM grant recipients to purchasestem cell lines derived from eggs from paid donors. Unfortunately,
that session is not available either by Internet or teleconference,
but only in San Francisco. The proposal is expected to move forward
to the full board on Thursday but it could be modified.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Co-vice Chairman of California Stem Cell Agency Hospitalized with Brain Injury
 |
| Duane Roth Connect Photo |
Roth hit a rock embankment and broke
his helmet, according to news reports. He was flown to the UC San
Diego Medical Center, where he underwent surgery to remove a piece of
his skull to relieve pressure on his brain, according to an account by Bruce Bigelow on Xconomy.
Bradley Fikes of the San Diego U-T
reported that Roth is expected to kept in a coma for at least several
days until his condition improves.
J.T. Thomas, chairman of the stem cell
agency, said in a statement,
“Our thoughts, prayers and best wishes for a full recovery are with Duane and his family.”
Roth, CEO of Connect, an organization
that supports the technology industry, has served on the
governing board of the $3 billion California stem cell agency since
2006. He has been a strong voice for business at the agency and likely would have been active participant in board discussion this Thursday of one of the agency's major initiatives
that will benefit business – a $70 million stem cell clinic plan.
Inside the Business in California's $70 Million Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Proposal
Want to know more
about the business aspects of a $70 million proposal to create a
chain of “Alpha” stem cell clinics in California?
More details can
be found in a report from the California stem cell agency titled
“Alpha Stem Cell Clinics: Delivering a New Kind of Medicine.”
Among other
things, the 23-page report discusses how the plan would guide efforts
to build profits into stem cell therapies and to develop strategies
to attract investors and philanthropists. Not all of the business
questions are answered. However, the report does paint a more
complete picture of how the clinics would lead to actual production
and marketing of a therapy. Overall, the proposal is aimed at
creating a sturdy foundation for the stem cell industry in
California, one that surpasses anything found elsewhere in the world.
The stem cell
agency's governing board is set to move forward on the Alpha clinics at its meeting on Thursday. This week's action involves approval of
the concept with an RFA coming in October. Awards to six recipients
could be made as early as July of next year.
The business aspects of the proposal are critical because without a clear pathway to profits no stem cell therapies will be available on anything approaching a significant scale.
The business aspects of the proposal are critical because without a clear pathway to profits no stem cell therapies will be available on anything approaching a significant scale.
CIRM President
Alan Trounson first advanced the Alpha concept two years ago. Last
fall the $3 billion agency brought together 70 folks from the stem
cell world to ponder the idea and to make suggestions. CIRM's report
on the discussions at the workshop served as the basis for the
proposal to be considered by its governing board this week. Here are excerpts from the report.
“Workshop participants...emphasized the need for engaged experts who can consider and implement strategies for reimbursement (i.e.generating profits) for stem cell therapies, and to gather evidence for their value and effectiveness that will be important for coverage by payers. Having clear pathways in place will help in building financially sustainable clinics as stem cell therapies gain approval and are implemented as standard medical practice. The Alpha Coordinating Center (funded at $15 million) would work with Accountable Care Organizations (funding gouprs that tie performance to payment) and multi-stakeholder collaborations to generate evidence for informing coverage and payment policies.”
“Incentivizing company sponsors of clinical trials to participate in data sharing will be challenging, and it will be important to protect their interests as appropriate, by respecting confidentiality of proprietary information, while at the same time requiring an appropriate degree of data sharing to advance the mission of the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network(five clinics funded at $11 million each). It is interesting to note that at this time, the landscape of disclosing clinical trial results is in flux, and there is increasing international pressure for companies to disclose information on safety and efficacy to the research and medical communities.”
“Alpha Stem Cell Clinics will create unique models for assessing the financial viability of stem cell therapies in a clinical setting. Cost and revenue data may serve as the basis for developing reimbursement options among the public and private sector as therapies accumulate. Identification of reimbursement options can reduce investor uncertainties and encourage further investment by pharmaceutical companies, investors, funding agencies and philanthropists.
“The elements of the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network, namely the clinical sites and central coordinating center, will interact with external entities to generate revenue streams that would ultimately ensure financial sustainability independent of CIRM funding (Figure 3).”
“The Coordinating and Information Management Center could develop a fee for service model for its consulting services, and operate like a CRO. Sponsors could choose whether to use the consulting services and whether to use the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Sites. The Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Sites would generate operating revenue by running the clinical trials and could perhaps support the Center with revenues, as the volume of trials grows and the Network builds steam.
“In a second model, clinical trial sponsors would all contract with the Coordinating and Information Management Center, which would then set prices according to services needed. From this revenue, the Center would pay the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Sites for costs associated with the clinical trials.
“By the time the CIRM seed money is depleted, the clinics should have established a strong track record and brand for excellence in conducting clinical trials in stem cell therapies, which would attract more clinical trial sponsors, including companies. To have the largest possible impact on healthcare, it will be desirable to increase industry involvement for cell therapies. However engaging corporate involvement could be challenging, given that many cell therapies are not considered patentable, and many of the ongoing trials are conducted in academic settings. It was suggested that the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network align as much as possible with corporate “mentality” to maximize corporate participation.
“Overall, the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network will help companies increase their 'bandwidth' and run stem cell therapy clinical trials more effectively and successfully. Many companies will already have sufficient in-house expertise for administration and regulatory guidance, and may not need to engage the Center’s consulting services. They would be attracted to the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network because of advantages for clinical trials such as benefiting from the collective databases, know-how and experience of the 'brain trust,' positive interactions and lines of communication with the FDA and regulatory experts, positive branding, quality control, accreditation for their trials, access to patient registries for outreach and patient recruitment and, through its clinical trial management resources, help with enrollment.
“Workshop participants also emphasized that attaining reimbursement for stem cell therapies will be necessary for delivering approved therapies into medical practice. It is likely that the business models for at least some of the clinics will resemble bone marrow/HSC transplant clinics, where for stem cell therapies that are proven superior to the standard of care, the clinic will directly receive reimbursement from insurers for the procedure and follow-up care.
“Reaching this point will require advance advocacy and preparation, and the engagement with the CMS at an early stage of product development. It was recommended that the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Coordinating and Information Management Center should employ experts in reimbursement methodologies to facilitate entry of approved products into healthcare delivery. One workshop participant, Jeff Sheehy(a stem cell agency board member), suggested that early engagement with Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) could be helpful, given that stem cell therapies offer the promise of cures, which in the long run will offer high value and effectiveness, albeit with ' high front end costs and the necessity of developing the appropriate infrastructure for delivering complex cell based procedures.' Consortiums such as the Green Park Collaborative are being established to develop methodological standards to demonstrate the effectiveness and value of new technologies. These data could be used to inform healthcare payers of the overall benefits of cell therapies and their long-term value, as compared with existing therapies."
“In 2016 and beyond, CIRM will initiate the 'Delivery' phase, in which priorities will be 'facilitating commercialization (and non-commercial adoption, where appropriate) of therapies, advancing therapies to patients, and enabling business models for stem cell-based therapies.' Connecting this network to other networks and centers with a similar mission outside of California will further accelerate the development and delivery of stem cell therapies, through the global exchange of information and expertise. International testing of experimental therapies developed in California will be essential for ensuring their sustainability, as regulatory approval and widespread delivery of these products in major markets throughout the world will ensure commercial viability and sustainability of companies and universities that produce them, which will in turn help deliver returns to investors. Ultimately, establishing a solid foundation for investor engagement will ensure the viability of stem cell therapies as they move into clinical practice.'”
Friday, July 19, 2013
Paying for Human Eggs, Ivan Illich and Jerry Brown
California's pay-for-eggs bill is
stalled in a technical parliamentary process as opponents continue to
wage their campaign urging Gov. Jerry Brown to veto the proposal,
which swept easily through the legislature.
The latest volley against the
industry-sponsored measure appeared this week as an op-ed in The Sacramento Bee. The legislation would allow women to be paid for eggs for scientific research. The op-ed piece invoked the philosopher Ivan Illich, a
longtime friend of Jerry Brown and much respected by him.
The July 16 article was written by Diane Tober of the Center for Genetics and Society of Berkeley and Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a professor of medical anthropology at UC Berkeley and director of Organs Watch, a medical human rights documentation project.The piece said,
“The late historian of science and technology, Ivan Illich, warned against the processes of medical industries which 'create new needs and control their satisfaction and turn human beings and their creativity into objects.'"
The op-ed said,
“Women's research eggs (have) become the hot new bio-product, increasing the profits of the multibillion-dollar-per-year infertility industry at the expense of women's health, safety and possibly, their future fertility. Is this the 'equity' we want for ourselves, our sisters and our daughters?”
In 2003, Brown wrote a remembrance of
Illich, whom he first met in 1976. Brown said that Illich
“...bore witness to the destructive power of modern institutions that 'create needs faster than they can create satisfaction, and in the process of trying to meet the needs they generate, they consume the earth.'”
The egg compensation bill (AB926 by
Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord) would remove a ban in
California on paying women who provide their eggs for scientific
research. Currently women who provide eggs for fertility purposes can
be paid, sometimes as much as $50,000, depending on the
characteristics of the woman providing the eggs. The bill would not
alter the ban on using research funds from the California stem cell
agency to pay for eggs. However, the agency next week will consider a proposal to allow use of agency funds to purchase stem cell lines
derived from eggs through compensation. (For
more information on
the bill,
see here, here and here.)
The egg bill received final legislative
approval on July 1. The governor has 12 days to act on the measure
once it actually reaches his desk. However, as of this morning, the
legislation remained in what is known as the “engrossing and
enrolling” process. It could be a routine delay but the process can
also be used to manage the flow of legislation to the governor. Brown
is currently on a two-week trip to Germany and Ireland and is not
expected to return until near the first of August.
(An earlier version of this item incorrectly identified Nancy Scheper-Hughes as with the Center for Genetics and Society.)
(An earlier version of this item incorrectly identified Nancy Scheper-Hughes as with the Center for Genetics and Society.)
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