Biopolitical Times: Trounson-Weissman-StemCells, Inc., Affair is 'Shameful'

The headline on the Biopolitical Times story said it all: “Shameful Conflicts of Interest Involving California’s Stem Cell Agency.”

The piece by Pete Shanks of the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley, Ca., dealt with the former president of the agency, Alan Trounson, and StemCells, Inc., which holds a $19.4 million award from the agency, along with Irv Weissman, the Stanford researcher who founded the firm and who now sits on its board.

Trounson was named to the StemCells, Inc., board on Monday, seven days after he left the agency. Yesterday the agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM), launched a “full review” of all activities involving StemCells, Inc. The agency also banned its staff and board fromcommunicating with Trounson about matters involving the publicly traded firm.  

Shanks wrote,

“Let's be blunt: This looks like a pay-off. Technically, what Trounson and Weissman and StemCells, Inc., just did may not be illegal. But it's shameless.”

Shanks pointed out that the problems with conflicts of interest at the agency are nothing new. As far back as 2004, they were noted prior to passage of the measure that created the state research effort. Their importance was noted by major supporters of the measure, including Weissman.

Weissman was quoted in Nature in September 2004 as saying,

“We want to avoid even the appearance of a conflict.”

Shanks concluded,

“CIRM should take a long look at its practices and procedures, which have never served the agency well — and especially should consider its obligations to the public, who fund it. There can be practical difficulties in balancing expertise and objectivity; the best scientists in any field do tend to know each other well. All the more reason to be especially careful. This kind of obviously problematic conflict of interest can and should easily be avoided.”

Former CEO of California Stem Cell Agency Named to Board of Firm that Received $19 Million From the Agency

Alan Trounson, the former president of the $3 billion California stem cell agency, today was named to the board of a company that has received $19.4 million from the agency, raising fresh and serious questions about conflicts of interest at the state-funded research program.

Announcement of the appointment came only seven days after Trounson left state employment. Trounson has been dogged for some time with questions about his relationship to the company, StemCells, Inc., of Newark, Ca., and its co-founder, eminent Stanford researcher Irv Weissman, who sits on the company’s six-man board and is chairman of its scientific advisory board.

StemCells, Inc., announced Trounson’s appointment in a press release this morning. The publicly traded firm said it was “thrilled” to have Trounson on its board. The first sentence of its press release noted that he had served as head of “the largest scientific funding body for stem cell research in the world.”

Weissman is director of the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford. He has received $34.7 million from the agency. Stanford overall has received $281 million from the stem cell agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). It is the No. 1 recipient of cash from the agency.

One California stem cell researcher, who asked to remain anonymous, said in an email,

“This looks like payback to Alan Trounson for all of the money that CIRM paid out to Irv Weissman (founder of StemCells, Inc.) and his friends at Stanford while Alan was president of CIRM.  Many people have pointed out that Alan seemed to be biased toward Stanford in his public and private comments. The facts bear that out: Stanford and StemCells, Inc., have had more than $300,000,000 of CIRM's $3 billion in funds awarded to them in grants.  Are they really more than twice as good as UCSF ($132,650,363), and three times better than USC ($104,858,348) and UC Irvine ($98,591,836)?”

As a member of the board of directors of StemCells, Inc., Trounson is expected to receive compensation including stock in the company. In 2013, members of the board received total compensation, including stock awards, ranging from $60,800 to $99,800, according to a Security and Exchange Commission filing.

StemCells, Inc., Weissman and the stem cell agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trounson, who announced last fall he was leaving the agency to return to Australia, could not be reached. The California Stem Cell Report will carry the full text of their remarks when they are received.

Last year and earlier this year, conflict of interest questions concerning Trounson and Weissman came in a $40 million stem cell genomics award round that was won by a Stanford-led team last January. The round was marked by a conflict of interest connected to Trounson, CIRM grant reviewer Lee Hood of Seattle and Weissman. Hood and Weissman own a Montana ranch where Trounson has been a guest. Trounson recruited Hood to help review the stem cell genomics applications in 2013 in closed door meetings. Hood, however, failed to disclose his relationship with Weissman.  It only came to light after another reviewer pointed out the connections between the two men. The agency had failed to detect the conflict.

As the California Stem Cell Report has previously noted,,

“Prior to the genomics round Trounson had acknowledged he had a conflict-of-interest in connection with another Weissman-related proposal. In 2012 in a round not connected to genomics, Trounson, who has visited the Hood-Weissman ranch as Weissman's guest, recused himself from the board's public discussions of applications from StemCells, Inc., a company founded by Weissman.

“Under CIRM's procedures, Trounson does not vote on applications during the review process. But beginning last year the board gave him and his staff new authority to make recommendations on applications after they were acted on by reviewers.”

Trounson ultimately recommended board approval last January of the genomics application from Stanford after Weissman was removed from the proposal.

During last January’s meeting, Trounson touted the Stanford application and specifically mentioned Michael Clarke, who is the No. 2 person in Weissman’s stem cell institute at Stanford, and who was part of the Stanford application instead of Weissman.

According to the meeting transcript, Trounson said,

“I think he's (Clarke) an extraordinary good researcher, and I think the Stanford people are terrific at that.”

The agency said earlier this year it had begun an examination of the processes in the stem cell genomics round, which was criticized for irregularities,unfairness, score manipulation and Trounson’s role.   No results of that inquiry have been announced.

Since the agency's inception in 2004 questions have been raised about conflicts of interest at the agency, mainly due to the composition of its board. Roughly 90 percent of its grants have gone to institutions that have been linked to members of its board.  The Institute of Medicine, in a $700,000 study commissioned by the agency, said that the board members essentially make proposals to themselves about what should be funded. And in 2008 the journal Nature editorialized about "cronyism" at the agency.

Randy Mills: Stepping into a $3 Billion California Adventure

SAN FRANCISCO – A 42-year-old former business executive from Maryland is expected to slip his spanking new card key into a slot this morning outside of the third-floor offices here of the California stem cell agency.

It will open the door to a $3 billion adventure into scientific research, California politics and government and one of the riskier areas of the biotech industry – one that is also filled with visions of nearly miraculous cures and revolutionary changes in medicine.

Randy Mills
Osiris photo

C. Randal Mills, more commonly known as Randy, begins his first day on the job today as CEO of the state's nearly 10-year-old stem cell research effort, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). It is an enterprise that has been praised for its contributions to science but now

faces financial extinction unless it develops new sources of funding. The borrowed money that finances the agency's new grants will run out in 2017, leaving CIRM with only the task of winding down existing research.

Mills, the former CEO of Osiris Therapeutics of Maryland, embodies changes already underway at the agency, which is pushing hard to commercialize stem cell research. With the arrival of Mills, the three top executives are all more tied to industry than academia. Ellen Feigal, the No. 2 person at the agency, was with Amgen prior to joining CIRM. Elona Baum, general counsel and vice president for development, was with Genentech.

Mills has given no public clue about whether he is planning major changes at the agency. In a very brief comment April 30, when he was named to the post, he said only that patients were his top priority. In announcing the appointment, CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas said Mills will take a “fresh look” at the agency and will “evaluate what we are doing right and what we can do better.”

It is clear that Mills, who has a Ph.D. in drug development from the University of Florida, will bring a definite business mindset to CIRM, which has been dominated by a culture closer to academia than industry. In 2009, he told PharmExec.com,

“When I came to Osiris in 2004, Osiris was what I called Osiris University. It was highly academic, brilliant people doing great science, but there was no commercial focus. That's changed nicely over the last four years....”

The previous two presidents of CIRM, Zach Hall and Alan Trounson, came from largely academic and non-business backgrounds. Mills' career has been spent in business, including an eight-year slog to drive the stem cell product Prochymal into the market. In 2012, Prochymal became the world's first government-approved stem cell drug approved for use on an off-the-shelf basis. That occurred in Canada. However, the drug is currently only available in the United States under special, limited access standards set by the FDA. Prochymal was sold last fall to Mesoblast of Australia in deal that could reach $100 million.

Mills, as might be expected, has remained mum on any personnel changes he may have in mind. He may have something to say about the five positions that were eliminated by Trounson in his proposed budget, which is due to be presented to the CIRM board May 29.

The elimination of the positions did not involve firing any employees. They involved jobs vacated by departures or ones that had not been filled. Nonetheless, the five slots represent nearly 10 percent of the existing 56 employees. Mills may want to have the ability to hire some additional staff on his own in an effort to implement matters he considers important. But any action he might take would be limited by the budget cap imposed by state law on CIRM.

Decisions are likely to come faster under Mills. Trounson was almost fabled for his globe-trotting absences which tended to delay things at CIRM. Under his tenure, CIRM had a host of lingering management problems that were cited in a 2012 performance audit that was required by state law. The agency says it is addressing those deficiencies. Along with faster decisions may come a turn away from consensus-driven action, a slow and cumbersome process that many business executives avoid, believing it is impossible to make everyone happy.

Some of the decisions for Mills could involve as much as $400 million. CIRM has only about $600 million in uncommitted funds. However, that figure does not include board-approved conceptual plans for handing out the $400 million. No RFAs have yet been posted for those rounds. If Mills is looking for new directions or would like to pour more money into an existing effort, such as those aimed at later stage clinical trials with businesses, he could either slow the release of specific RFAs or go back to the board to ask it to reconsider the efforts.

The 29-member board is unlikely to turn down requests from their new CEO. Rejection of a Mills' proposal would be interpreted as a sign of a lack of confidence in him.

At least initially, Mills is also likely to have a smooth road in connection with the controversial and much criticized dual executive arrangement at the agency. Under Proposition 71, which created the $3 billion agency in 2004, the chairman and the president have overlapping responsibilities. That has led to public tensions in the past, particularly with the first agency chairman, Robert Klein. However, under Trounson, public airing of those problems has subsided. Plus current chairman Thomas has a much different management style than Klein.

Thomas has main responsibility for finding new sources of funding for the agency and is talking about some sort of private-public partnership. Mills' role in the fund-raising is not publicly well defined. But Thomas has praised Mills' ability in raising $160 million for Osiris. Thomas may want to harness Mills' presentation and persuasion talents.

As CEO of CIRM, Mills will be the person responsible for generating the type of research results that will resonate with potential private investors as well as the public. One advantage he has is that the agency is little known to the vast majority of the California population. In such situations, public opinion is more easily shaped.

Nonetheless, the San Francisco Chronicle recently took the occasion of Mills appointment to say that CIRM has not lived up to its hype. The newspaper's editorial said the agency should not expect more public funding.

The biotech industry is likely to be pleased with the appointment of one of their fellows as president of CIRM. The industry has been critical of the agency in the past, although it is currently dancing closer to business. The key issue has been the meager amount of awards to industry. According to CIRM calculations, only about 7 percent of the $1.7 billion in awards has gone to business, up from about 4 percent calculated by the California Stem Cell Report a few years ago. More cash has trickled down via subcontractors hired by grant recipients.

The increasing coziness with industry is necessary to develop an actual FDA-certified product that can be used to treat patients. But ties to industry also raise conflict-of-interest issues. CIRM has been dogged by conflict questions since its inception because of the nature of its board, which was dictated by Proposition 71. Roughly 90 percent of dollar value of the awards has gone to institutions with links to past and present members of CIRM's governing board, according to calculations by the California Stem Cell Report. (See here and here.)

In 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine, Bernie Lo of UC San Francisco, chairman of the CIRM Standards Group and who also led an Institute of Medicine(IOM) study on conflicts of interest, warned that "irreconcilable differences" exist involving medical research and the private sector because of sharply divergent priorities.

The IOM study said,

"Despite their benefits, relationships with industry create conflicts of interest that can undermine the primary goals of medical research. Where there are conflicts, legitimate and serious concerns can be raised about the openness of research and potential bias in the design, conduct, and reporting of research "

Mills' left Osiris in December of last year for what were reported as “personal reasons.” At 42, he has a long career ahead of him. Carrying on well at CIRM, which is facing its financial demise, could be a springboard to a large leap forward for Mills in a few years into another position in the biotech industry, as well elsewhere.

New California Stem Cell CEO Begins Work May 15

C. Randal Mills, a man who has spent his entire professional life in the private sector, will take over on May 15 as the new president of the state of California's $3 billion stem cell agency.

Mills, 42, was named last week to succeed Alan Trounson, a longtime academic researcher who is leaving to return to his family in Australia. Mills, former CEO of Osiris Therapeutics of Maryland, is scheduled to begin half-time work in 10 days at the stem cell headquarters in San Francisco. At that point, Trounson will be designated as a senior scientific advisor to the agency. Mills' work will initially be half-time while he works out his move from Maryland.

The news from the agency, which is formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), came along with more details about Mills' employment agreement, including provisions that deal with outside activities that he might pursue.

Randy Mills (left) and Jonathan Thomas
CIRM photo

The information was contained in an “offer letter” from CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas to Mills, dated and signed by both men on April 28, two days before the agency governing board ratified its terms(see here and here). The letter was provided by the agency at the request of the California Stem Cell Report. The full text can be found at the end of this item.

As reported previously, Mills' annual salary will total $550,000, compared to the $490,008 earned by Trounson. Mills' total compensation at Osiris was $554,750 in 2013, according to company filings with the federal government. He left Osiris in December 2013 for “personal reasons.”

The

offer letter provided for $95,000 in relocation and travel costs for house-hunting and moving. Mills is also entitled to reimbursement for meals and temporary housing for 60 days, contingent on approval by the state Personnel Administration Department. That would amount to $40 a day for meals and $178 a day for lodging. That could run up to $13,080 if the full 60 days are used.

Mills' agreement with CIRM allows him to use his “personal time and resources” to engage in outside activities that are compatible with his CIRM duties. Those outside activities include service on boards of for-profit companies, which can be lucrative, as well as service on non-profit boards. The agreement stipulates that such service be disclosed to the chairman of the board and that he confirm that the service is compatible with Mills' role as president.

Mills, who goes by the nickname Randy, is subject to the agency's conflict of interest policy which requires him to divest himself of any investments in companies that devote more than 5 percent of their research budget to stem cell research. In addition to the policy, Mills is required by state law to disclose his economic interests generally and is subject to the agency's “incompatible activities statement”(see below) and the “employee conflict of interest code.”

Mills will serve at the pleasure of the board. However, if the board fires him “without cause” within 36 months, he will be entitled to six months salary.. The agency's offer letter also said,

“You shall not be entitled to any payment if the (governing) board terminates you for cause, including knowing violation of state conflict of interest law and/or CIRM policy, willful or corrupt misconduct or a criminal conviction.”

The offer letter said the effective date of the appointment is June 2. However, Kevin McCormack, senior director of public communications, said last week that stipulation has been modified to reflect the May 15 start. McCormack said Trounson will serve as a scientific advisor to CIRM to June 30 “to help shepherd through a number of projects and commitments he has made.” Presumably that would include the closed-door review of applications in the $80 million Alpha stem cell clinic plan, which is scheduled to be acted on by the CIRM board later this year.

Here is the text of the April 28 offer letter and the agency's incompatible activities statement. 

Offer letter from California stem cell agency to Randy Mills

Incompatible Activities Statement California Stem Cell Agency

California's $40 Million Stem Cell Genomics Award: Irregularities, Complaints and Integrity

A number of firsts were recorded last month as the California stem cell agency gave $40 million to a Stanford-led consortium to put California in the global forefront of stem cell genomics.

Not all of those firsts necessarily enhanced the reputation of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the $3 billion agency is formally known.

The unusual events and irregularities surrounding the award, CIRM's largest research grant, merit additional attention, given their implications about the integrity of the agency's grant review process and how the agency does its business.

The California Stem Cell Report recently asked a number of persons connected with the round and other knowledgeable individuals about the process. Their comments included a judgment that the agency staff “took a lot of liberties behind closed doors.” One of the rejected applicants "unequivocally" disputed assertions by CIRM President Alan Trounson that all applicants were informed by him about the need for matching funds, a key criteria for grant reviewers. The request for applications did not contain such a requirement.

The comments came in addition to earlier complaints by rejected applicants that scores had been manipulated in an “appalling” fashion and that scientific merit was not the first order of business in assessing the top four applications.

Also surfacing was a problem generated by Proposition 71, the ballot initiative that created the stem cell agency in 2004. The measure set up a 29-member governing board, including deans of medical schools and others with ties to research organizations. The board was supposed to exercise its expertise on funding decisions. However, only seven members of the board actually voted in the genomics round. Most of the rest had legal conflicts of interest and were not allowed to even participate in the discussion. It is not unusual for that sort of situation to arise during funding decisions by the board.

The CIRM stem cell genomics story began publicly in a scientifically big way with an article in the journal Nature Biotechnology in January 2012  by Trounson and two members of his staff. In it, Trounson said his proposal was needed so that the agency could take a "firm and lasting grip" on stem cell leadership.

Later that month, the governing board of the agency approved the concept for one or two genomics award. In February 2013, grant reviewers for CIRM, whose identities are withheld by the agency, took a crack at the applications. However, they declined to send any applications forward to the board for final action. It was the first time in the agency's nine-year history that has occurred. The reviewers offered no public explanation for the move.

The closed-door review session was marked by a conflict-of-interest violation by Lee Hood of Seattle, Wash., an internationally known genomics specialist, who was recruited by Trounson to be a reviewer in the round. Hood is a close friend of Irv Weissman, who heads Stanford University's stem cell institute. Weissman was named in Stanford's then $24 million application. Hood and Weissman also own a ranch together in Montana.

Trounson has been a guest at the ranch. In 2012, he recused himself during CIRM board discussions of two applications involving Weissman. The applications were from StemCells, Inc., of Newark, Ca., for $20 million each. StemCells, Inc., was founded by Weissman, who still holds a large amount of stock in the firm and serves on its board of directors.

Following the unsuccessful genomics review in February 2013, the applications were sent back to researchers with reviewer comments. The proposals could be retooled for a re-review in the fall, they were told.

After the fall review, the reviewers – minus Hood -- sent the applications to the board with recommendations to fund all four despite the fact that they would cost $146 million, well above the $40 million budgeted for the round. It was the first time that reviewers had made such a decision. Normally they stay within the budget, but they offered no public explanation for their actions in the genomics round.

At that point the CIRM staff, headed by Trounson, became more involved. Under new procedures, the staff may make recommendations concerning applications. In this case, they recommended that only the Stanford application be funded, but only after restoring a provision eliminated by reviewers. Trounson also recommended no funding for the three other top applications in the round. It was the first such major intervention by Trounson and the most aggressive staff move on grant applications.

Trounson offered only a 23-word phrase for recommending the Stanford application and no explanation for rejecting the other three. Stripped from the public review summaries for the three competing applications were the dollar amounts that they had requested. It has been the longstanding practice of the agency to include those figures. The amounts ultimately were made available to the board at its Jan. 29 meeting.

At that meeting, Trounson strongly backed retention of funding in the Stanford application for a project led by Michael Clarke, associate director of Weissman's stem cell institute at Stanford. Following the 2013 conflict violation involving Hood and Weissman, Weissman was removed from Stanford's application. Clarke was included, however. No questions were raised at last month's board meeting about whether Clarke could be regarded as a surrogate for Weissman's interests and whether that would involve a conflict of interest for Trounson.

Late in the meeting, Trounson also said that he had personally told all the applicants, with the exception of Stanford, that matching funds were expected as part of the applications, an assertion disputed following the meeting by Jeanne Loring of the Scripps Research Institute, whose rejected proposal contained no matching funds.

She said in an email,

"During the ICOC (governing board) meeting, Alan Trounson said that he had told us during his visit to all of the first round grantees that it would be important provide money for 'matching' funds. I state unequivocally that he did not tell me or anyone in my lab about this."   (Loring's boldface)

Stanford said its application contained $7 million in matching funds. The agency withheld the figures when they were requested by the California Stem Cell Report prior to the Jan. 29 board meeting, although it has released the figures in at least one other grant round.

Complaints about manipulation of the scores were raised prior to the board meeting by Pui-Yan Kwok,  leader for an application from UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley. He said that the scores of the top to applications were “based on the reviewers removing from consideration the poorest performing center-initiated projects.” He described the situation as appalling.

The agency defended its practices at the board meeting and in response to questions. It said the scoring procedures were permitted under the RFA. It said that while the procedures may be different than those of the NIH so is the stem cell agency. It said that all persons involved had been screened for conflicts of interest under CIRM rules and state law. 

In response to a query by the California Stem Cell Report concerning the process and the questions that needed to be addressed, Loring replied,

“I am concerned about the interference of the CIRM president in influencing the ICOC decisions. He has de facto power to promote or defeat specific applications, and he often wins by promoting one applicant over another. Stanford and Stanford faculty-founded companies such as Stem Cells. Inc., should not be so blatantly promoted over others. The relationship between the president and the head of the stem cell program at Stanford involves personal favors which make him conflicted and he should at the very least recuse himself from any discussion or recommendation of Stanford faculty's applications.”

Loring continued,

“The 29-member board is difficult enough to deal with, but now that most of the members are considered to be conflicted and are not allowed to even discuss the applications, we are left with a small number of non-scientists making decisions about scientific merit.

“I know that at least 5 members of the ICOC were very upset that they were unable to voice their opinions about what should be their mission- to guide CIRM's policies and choices for funding so that they are in the best interest of the voters.”

(For the full text of Loring's remarks see here.)

Other critical comments came from a longtime observer of the agency, who asked not to be identified, and who said,

“It appears that CIRM staff took a lot of liberties behind closed doors in driving this initiative to its final outcome. For example, what happened to require a resubmission and re-review etc. Did they change anything about this initiative in the process?  Were certain criteria shared with some but not all applicants?

“It also appears that the board was taken by surprise and not prepared to deal with the complexities in this initiative.  Clearly staff has not kept them in the loop and they had little access to the details of the process and how reviewers were managed.  They have always funded the vast majority of what the reviewers scored highly, and still did not break the bank.  This is a brand new situation where the reviewers recommended more grants than they could afford to fund.  This happens a lot in the NIH (especially today with severe budget cuts), so NIH has developed many processes to deal with this.  CIRM has not seen anything like this before.”

During the board meeting, some board members questioned parts of the grant review process. The anonymous observer said, 

“The questions (all legitimate) raised by the certain members of the board were by and large not understood or picked up by the other voting members, so they went nowhere. 

“Too many thoughtful board members were conflicted out, leaving the decision-making to a handful who are not prepared to deal with this complex situation.  I blame the IOM (Institute of Medicine) report in giving too much power, without the appropriate process, to staff.  Staff can recommend, but if the board has no information other than what staff provides, then they are acting in the dark.”

(For the full text of those remarks see here.)

In response to the same query, Michael Snyder of Stanford and Joe Ecker of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, co-leaders of the Stanford-led effort, did not raise any questions about the CIRM review process. They said,

“The net result (of their proposal) is that this center will help bring cutting edge technologies to all stem cell researchers in California and along with the funded projects will help keep California at the leading edge of two important fields: stem cell research and genomics, and thereby help accelerate both the science and therapeutics treatments possible in this field, and spur industry and economic development. questions.”

(For the full text of their remarks see here.)

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this item incorrectly said the first name of Michael Clark was William.)

The Knoepfler Dozen: Kicking Around Names for Stem Cell Agency Presidency

A UC Davis stem cell researcher today came up with a list of 12 persons who have the “stem cell chops” to become the new president of the $3 billion California stem cell agency.

They include a few folks from the NIH, two women and one of the earliest pioneers in the nation in stem cell research.

Writing on his blog, scientist Paul Knoepfler pulled together the names based on “behind-the-scenes” discussions with “some folks in the know.” It is much too early in the process to identify genuine candidates. Nonetheless, they are possibilities, however remote, and represent the type of persons that Knoepfler and his colleagues are talking about.

A couple of caveats when evaluating these names and whether they would even consider leaving their current, very nice positions. One is that they would have to give up their labs. Outgoing CIRM President Alan Trounson has lamented more than once about how he had to do that. Also, questions arise about whether a person considering the post would want to leave his or her current employment for a job that could basically vanish in less than three years.

The agency will run out of money for new grants in 2017. Unless it finds additional funding, the last few years of operations beyond 2017 will involve simply administering the last grants. Even if it does raise more cash, it is exceedingly unlikely that the agency will be able to continue hand out $300 million a year.

That said, here are Knoepfler's dozen. First, the women: Jeanne Loring of Scripps and Story Landis of the NIH. The stem cell pioneer is Michael West, CEO of Biotime, who founded Geron back in 1990.

The others are Jim Battey, who was previously a late stage candidate for the job, and Mahendra Rao, both of the NIH; Rusty Gage of Salk, Larry Goldstein of UC San Diego, Arnold Kriegstein of UC San Francisco, Tom Okarma, former CEO of Geron and now head of Asterias Biotherapeutics, which now owns Geron's stem cell assets, Brock Reeve of Harvard, Clive Svendsen of Cedars-Sinai and Keith Yamamoto of UC San Francisco.

Notably missing from the list are possibilities from Stanford, UCLA and USC.

A note re Goldstein of UC San Diego, he was recently named to head the $100 million Sanford stem cell operation, which makes it unlikely he would move to the stem cell agency.

CIRM's job description also currently carefully omits a requirement that the new president be a scientist, only that the person have scientific credibility.

One scientist knowledgeable about CIRM's operation recently told the California Stem Cell Report that great scientists often make terrible managers, a sentiment that may come into play during the selection process.

Former iPierian Exec Joins California Stem Cell Agency as CFO

A former executive at a California stem cell firm has been named as the first chief financial officer of the seven-year-old, $3 billion California stem cell agency, it was announced today.

Matthew Plunkett, CIRM CFO
CIRM Photo

Matthew Plunkett, former vice president and chief financial officer of iPierian Inc., has been at work at CIRM since late last month. The agency said in a news release today that Plunkett is overseeing "budgeting, forecasting, financial compliance and reporting, and implementation of the industry loan award program."

Plunkett will also "play a key role in securing opportunities to leverage CIRM funds with additional outside capital," said CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas.

Plunkett worked for iPierian from 2009 until last April. While he was at the firm, it received $7 million in grants from CIRM. The South San Francisco business has a unique connection to CIRM. Major investors in iPierian, including John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield Byers of Menlo Park, pumped nearly $6 million into the 2004 ballot campaign that created CIRM. That amounted to 25 percent of the total contributed to the campaign, which was headed by Robert Klein, who later became the first chairman of the stem cell agency.

CIRM has said no connection exists between the contributions and subsequent awards to iPierian.

The agency has needed a chief financial officer for some time. It has sometimes struggled with routine budget matters, although that problem seems to have been largely solved even before Plunkett was hired. Plunkett will report to both the agency's chairman, Jonathan Thomas, and CIRM President Alan Trounson, in a continuation of the troublesome dual executive arrangement at the stem cell agency.

Prior to joining iPierian, Plunkett worked for Oppenheimer/CIBC World Markets from 2000 to 2009. In his last position there, he was managing director/head of West Coast biotechnology. He holds Ph.D. in organic chemistry from UC Berkeley.

Plunkett, who is earning $260,004 annually, began work on Nov. 28. Today's press release on his hiring came after the California Stem Cell Report inquired on Saturday about progress in filling the position.

Here is a link to a brief article in the San Francisco Business Times about the Plunkett announcement.
(An earlier version of this item incorrectly said Plunkett started work on Nov. 11 based on his resume which said "11/11.")

Right Medicine for CIRM: Front Page Paean to Stem Cell Research

The California stem cell agency scored another PR plus a couple of days ago with a glowing, front page story in the San Francisco Chronicle that basically left readers thinking stem cells are the fountain of youth.

It is the type of coverage that the agency needs to persuade California voters to borrow another $3 billion to $5 billion and place it the hands of the small band at CIRM HQ on King Street in San Francisco to give to researchers.

The story had all the earmarks of being generated by CIRM. If it wasn't, it should have been. It was a nifty paean to the virtues of all manner of stem cell research. It included a solid quote from CIRM President Alan Trounson. And all four of the researchers named in the article are recipients of CIRM grants.

Written by Chronicle reporter Erin Allday, the article's first paragraph said,

 "It may not be as sexy as curing cancer or repairing devastating spinal cord injuries, but the science of aging — and what researchers might be able to do to slow down or even reverse some of the worst effects of getting older — is taking off in the stem cell industry."

The piece cited research by Thomas Rando of Stanford and said,

Stanford's Thomas Rando -- stitching old and young together

"Even if stem cells don’t add decades to human life, they might give people many more productive years in their 70s, 80s and beyond, Rando and other scientists say. 'With aging, there are a lot of systems that start to become less efficient or break down or be more inclined to diseases. We may work out ways to provide stem cells that would enable people to remain vigorous,' said Alan Trounson, president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. "

The story continued,

"'The idea has always been there, the fountain of youth you could get at if you were constantly replacing old cells with new cells,' said Dr. Deepak Srivastava, head of cardiovascular and stem cell research at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco."

This paragraph caught our eye and conjured up an amazing image when we thought about its direct application to humans.

"In 2005, (Rando) stitched together two mice — one young, one old — to join their circulatory systems. After awhile, the stem cells in the old mouse were healthier and more active, leading scientists to believe that the younger blood and tissue from the young mouse were invigorating the stem cells in the old one."

In 2008, Amy Adams, then of the Stanford PR staff but now with CIRM, also wrote about the implications of Rando's research in a piece in Stanford Medicine magazine. She explored more of the scientific implications and limitations about sharing blood via stitching or otherwise. A sidebar to her main piece said,

"A lack of scientific grounding won't thwart anti-aging hucksters, says David Magnus, director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. 'I can easily imagine a company starting up in another country based on Rando's findings,' Magnus says."

In fact, dubious stem cell marketing pitches are already well underway. We encountered one advertising on Google while doing research for this story. It was from a company in the Phillipines that offers treatments for breast augmentation and erectile dysfunction.  Our readers may even find ads like that on this blog, placed there by Google's automated system.

One downside to the impact of Chronicle story: It is behind a paywall and hasn't shown up in ordinary Google searches or alerts. We are in debt to Wesley J. Smith, whose blog post on the Chronicle story called it to our attention.

Smith, an attorney and author, is no friend of CIRM. His item yesterday described the $3 billion agency as "arrogantly managed and wildly expensive." Smith wrote,

"I suspect that the CIRM and its supporters are gearing up for a very expensive–pull out all the stops–PR drive to resell stem cells as the  cure all, as the once Golden State turns to pyrite.  Since they don’t have any real cures to point to, they plan to seduce with vaguely timed promises that stem cells will allow us to run marathons when we are eighty and make love at 90 like we were 25 and hormonal–the old quest for a fountain of youth updated for the scientific age."

Nonetheless, stories like one in the Chronicle are the right medicine for CIRM if it wants to live to a ripe old age.

Amgen Exec Named to New VP Post at California Stem Cell Agency

The California stem cell agency today named Ellen Feigal, an executive at Amgen, Inc., to the new position of vice president for research and development.

Feigal(left) with Claire Pomeroy, dean of
 the  UC Davis School of Medicine in 2007
 at an awards ceremony involving Feigal.
 Pomeroy is also a member of the
CIRM board of directors.

She will begin work at the $3 billion research enterprise Jan. 31, leaving her current post as executive medical director for global development at Amgen, which is based in Thousand Oaks, Ca., north of Los Angeles.

Feigal will fill a position that has been vacant since the summer of 2009, basically the No. 2 spot at CIRM. CIRM President Alan Trounson created the post in the wake of the departure of Marie Csete as chief scientific officer. The VP position replaces the chief scientific officer position.

The vice president's position has a salary range that runs from $286,000 to $529,100. It is the same range as for chairman or president of CIRM. In response to a query, Don Gibbons, the agency's chief of communications, said Feigal would be paid $332.000.

CIRM's press release said,

"Feigal will report to Trounson and will work closely with other CIRM executives to build and manage the pre-clinical and clinical programs, both within California and with CIRM’s international collaborators, as well as interactions with the NIH, FDA and other regulatory bodies. She will also manage the assembly and oversight of CIRM’s clinical advisory committee that will assess project progress, milestones and go/no-go decisions. A key aspect of her portfolio will be working with the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and investment sectors as well as academia to enable and enhance development of clinical applications from CIRM’s science portfolio."

Trounson said,

“As CIRM matured and moved more of its resources into translational and clinical science, we saw the need to formalize a role for a vice president for research and development, and Ellen’s career trajectory and experience fill our vision for that role perfectly."

The CIRM press release said,

"Feigal distinguished herself in many positions in academia, the federal government, non-profit research organizations, small pharma and large biotech companies. She has focused on assessing novel therapies, training young investigators in how to assess novel therapies, and in building partnerships and coalitions to enhance translational research. In her position at Amgen she also led the scientific/clinical interface with patient advocacy organizations and formalized the company’s policy on expanded access to therapies for those with limited or no treatment options."

The news release continued,

"In addition to her work at Amgen, Feigal currently serves as Adjunct Professor and Director of the American Course on Drug Development and Regulatory Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. The course, developed under her leadership in collaboration with the FDA, UCSF’s Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, its Center for Drug Development Sciences and the European Center of Pharmaceutical Medicine at the University of Basel, was launched in 2007. It is taught over two years, with six sessions, each four days in length in Washington, D.C. and a separate parallel course in San Francisco. Feigal will step down as course director and adjunct professor as she takes on this new position at CIRM."

In 2007, Feigal received UC Davis Health System's first-ever "Transformational Leadership Award," which honors someone who has “enhanced the profession, improved the welfare of the general public, provided for personal distinction and brought honor to our university.”

UC Davis said,

"Her collaborative work with organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration, National Cancer Institute, Translational Genomics Institute and Critical Path Institute are helping to cut through red tape and bring life-saving drugs to patients as quickly and safely as possible."

Massive, $243 Million Disease Round Gets Okay from Stem Cell Agency

Directors of the California stem cell agency today gave the go ahead to a $243 million disease team grant round aimed at generating a “development candidate” for a clinical trial, doubling the size of the original proposal by the CIRM staff.

The huge round would fund up to 30 planning grants and 12 full grants of up to $20 million. It would come on top of the initial disease team round of $250 million last October. The application process for the latest round would begin this November with planning grants, which are required to be eligible for full grants. Full grants are scheduled to be approved in 2012.


The size of today's round was doubled at the suggestion of CIRM Director Jeff Sheehy. He said most of the disease team efforts are risky and expected to fail. He said it was important to get more in the pipeline.

Sheehy first proposed 45 planning grants and 15 full grants. CIRM President Alan Trounson resisted the increase in the number of grants, declaring it would overtax staff and reviewers. After some discussion, Sheehy agreed to 30 planning grants and 12 full grants.

The board also approved a more than $600,000 study of its operations by the prestigous Institute of Medicine that would be expected to completed by the general election of November 2012. Chairman Robert Klein said the study would be key to winning voter approval of more billions in state bonds to fund stem cell research.

Sheehy supported the proposal, declaring it would be taken “very seriously” by editorial boards and other segments of the media as well as the public.

Duane Roth, co-vice chairman of the stem cell board, dissented. He said the study will require considerable work on the part of staff. He also said the board should not have “blind trust” that the findings would be ones desired by the board.

The study will be funded with part of the $3.5 million that CIRM has in private donor funds. The cost could increase beyond the $600,000 range because CIRM directors indicated they wanted some changes in the scope of the study. CIRM is currently involved in an expensive external review of its strategic plan and will be subject to a performance audit($400,000 or so), which it will also pay for, under the terms of legislation expected to be signed into law.

The board also approved paying its patient advocate members up to $15,000 annually. That action came during a session late yesterday, which CIRM had assured us would be solely an executive session.

In other actions, the board approved procedures for selection of a new chair and vice chairman. Klein has said he will step down as chairman in December. However, if the board does not vote on a replacement, he will continue in office.

Francisco Prieto, a Sacramento physician, was named chairman of the directors' Evaluation Subcommittee, and Ted Love, executive vice president of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Richmond, Ca. , was named vice chairman. The panel evaluates the performance of the chairman, vice chairman and president of the agency.

Here is a link to the CIRM press release on the meeting.

Geron Go-Ahead Rouses Industry and Researchers

Geron Corp. said today that it hopes to begin within the next two months a clinical trial for an hESC therapy for spinal injuries, triggering a wave of ebullience from scientists, investors and patient advocates.

The company disclosed its plans following the lifting by the FDA of a hold on the effort.

Clive Cookson of the Financial Times of London caught the global significance. He wrote,

“The world’s first treatment based on human embryonic stem cells is set to begin a clinical trial within the next two months, in patients with acute spinal cord injury.”

For patient advocate Don Reed of Fremont, Ca., it was an emotional event. Writing on his blog, Reed said,

“The research behind this ground-breaking event was paid for a California law named after my paralyzed son, the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999.”
Reed continued,

“Christopher 'Superman' Reeve gave us his blessing, saying, 'One day, Roman and I will stand up from our wheelchairs, and walk away from them forever.' Cure did not come in time for our paralyzed champion, but we still believe in that great dream.”

Shares of Geron, a firm in Menlo Park, Ca., shot up 17 percent or 83 cents to $5.63. Analysts predicted skyrocketing share prices if the clinical trial proves successful.

Rob Waters and Molly Peterson of Bloomberg News interviewed Thomas Okarma, CEO of Geron. Bloomberg said,

"The FDA action strengthens Geron’s ability to start similar trials in the future, Okarma said. It also leaves regulators with a better grasp of how to review a completely new type of therapy.

"'It’s helped both of us to get up the learning curve together,' Okarma said. 'We’ve brought the FDA to a higher level of understanding which has been very positive and mutually beneficial. And phew, it’s about time.'"

Peterson and Bloomberg continued:

"Two other U.S. companies are working with embryonic stem cells. Advanced Cell Technology;of Marlborough, Massachusetts(and Los Angeles), is awaiting FDA approval to start a clinical trial in patients with Stargardt’s macular dystrophy, an eye disorder that causes severe vision loss.

"Viacyte, formerly known as Novocell Inc., a closely held San Diego company, is working on methods of turning embryonic stem cells into insulin-secreting cells for the treatment of diabetes."

Paul Knoepfler, a stem cell researcher at UC Davis, had predicted on his blog on July 1 that the FDA hold on Geron would be lifted “very soon.” Today he said,

"The hold was placed because of a 'higher frequency of cysts.' However many of us were wondering why the serious concern (and seemingly long hold) about non-tumorigenic cysts that were somewhat unremarkable in appearance. That remains unclear except that perhaps it was the "higher frequency" part. Despite being a bit puzzled about the length of the hold, I think in the long run caution makes sense."

CIRM President Alan Trounson said in a statement,

“This is an important milestone for the whole field to have an embryonic stem cell therapeutic in clinical trials. We are looking with hope and expectation that the transplant will be safe and effective.”

Geron is expected to be one of three firms (including Advanced Cell Technology) seeking funding from the California stem cell agency in its upcoming $50 million clinical trial round. The RFA was originally scheduled for May but was rescheduled for this month. CIRM appears likely to miss that target.

Alan Lewis Joins CIRM as VP for Research and Development

The California stem cell agency today confirmed that that Alan Lewis, formerly of head of Novocell and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, will be joining its small band in in San Francisco.

Lewis was named interim vice president for research and development. He will be working two to three days a week and focus on  “identifying strategic opportunities and developing action plans to fulfill the mission of the Institute.”

In the CIRM news release, Patricia Olson, executive director of scientific activities for CIRM, said,

“His many years of experience in developing therapies for patient benefit in both for-profit and non-profit organizations will be valuable to CIRM as we expand our program to include clinical projects.”

The announcement from CIRM said Lewis will take direction from President Alan Trounson and Olson.

Trounson, who has been seeking to fill the VP slot for about a year, was not quoted in the release nor was CIRM Chairman Robert Klein.

CIRM did not immediately disclose Lewis' compensation. The VP position has a salary range that tops at $332,000. The news release did not say whether Lewis would be an employee or an outside contractor. However, a CIRM insider told us he would be a contractor. The agency is heavily reliant on outside contractors because it is limited by law to 50 staffers. Currently it has about 45 employees.

Lewis' old firm, now known as ViaCyte, has $26.3 million in awards from CIRM.

The California Stem Cell Report first reported Lewis' link-up with CIRM on Monday.

Fomer Top Exec at CIRM Hired by San Diego Firm

The former chief scientific officer for the California stem cell agency, Marie Csete, has landed at a San Diego firm, where she has been named executive vice president for research and development.

Csete resigned from her state government post last June, creating a bit of a stir. She told Nature magazine that her advice was not respected at the $3 billion stem cell agency.

Csete has joined Organovo, Inc., a privately held regenerative medicine company that is focused on creating tissue on demand for research and surgical applications.

The company's news release yesterday quoted the company's president, Keith Murphy, as saying,

"She has extensive experience in clinical transplant and is a leader in the understanding of stem cell behavior. In her previous role, Marie was instrumental in fostering translation of early technologies to practical results. Marie is an excellent fit to lead the company's efforts to move our therapeutic pipeline rapidly to the clinic."

Instead of filling Csete's position as chief scientific officer, CIRM President Alan Trounson created the new post of vice president of research and development. That job is not yet filled.

The only media coverage of Csete's appointment that we could find was in the San Diego Business Journal, a brief story by Heather Chambers.

CIRM CEO To Gain More Power in Grant Reviews

The president of the California stem cell agency would wield more power in the agency's grant review process under a proposal that was approved by CIRM's Grant Working Group earlier this month.

The proposal, which will probably go before the CIRM board of directors in October, would give CIRM CEO Alan Trounson the authority to pick an “acting” chairman to preside over each grant review session.

Currently responsibility for the reviews lies with the existing position of chairman, which will be eliminated in its current form. That post has been vacant for nearly a year.

Instead two types of chairs will be created. An “administrative” chair would be named to handle chores other than grant application reviews, which are the chief function of the Grants Working Group. The acting chairs would handle the review sessions. The board of directors would retain authority to approve the administrative chair.

The grants group makes the de facto decisions on CIRM grants, which are expected to total $1 billion by the end of the year.

CIRM Approves $68 Million in Grants; Wrestles with Executive Evaluation

LOS ANGELES -- The California stem cell agency today approved $68 million in grants for early translational research and left open the possibility that more might be awarded in June.

CIRM said in a news release,

"The 15 early translational grants approved by the board will go to 13 not-for-profit and two for-profit organizations. These grants are intended to either lead to a drug candidate for an unmet medical need or address a bottleneck in the development of new therapies."

CIRM President Alan Trounson was quoted as saying,

“With these early translational grants CIRM has taken the first step in funding translational research that will be critical for the development of future therapies.”

CIRM has talked about the importance of making grants to business. In this round, Novocell of San Diego, received $5.4 million and BioTime of Alameda, Ca., received $4.7 million. You can see a complete list of the approved applicants here.

Twelve additional grants had been recommended for funding by reviewers – if funds were available. But the board decided to put off a decision on those until June in hopes that CIRM will have an improved financial situation.

The board took no action on four letters from applicants seeking to reverse negative decisions by reviewers, but it rejected all applications ranked in the bottom tier. You can find the text of the petitions via the meeting agenda.

The board additionally approved $200,000 to co-sponsor the annual convention of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in San Francisco during the summer of 2010. John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca., supported the move although he was critical when the subject was first broached last December with a $400,000 price tag. Simpson praised as thorough the CIRM staff justification for the expenditure.

In other business, CIRM directors approved an evaluation process for the CIRM chair, vice chairs and president – the first such in the four-year history of the organization. The plan stirred debate concerning the composition and chairmanship of a new Evaluation Subcommittee of directors.

Some directors objected to permitting the Evaluation Subcommittee, which includes three of the four persons to be evaluated, decide who chairs the panel. Board member Jeff Sheehy, director for communications at the AIDS Research Institute at UC San Francisco, moved to designate the chair and vice chair of the Governance Subcommittee to fill the same positions on the Evaluation Subcommittee. Sherry Lansing, a UC regent and former movie studio CEO, and Claire Pomeroy, dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, are chair and vice chair of the governance panel. They were key to working out the evaluation process.

Sheehy said it was not appropriate for the people being evaluated to have a voice in picking the chair of the Evaluation Subcommittee.

Klein, who will sit on the Evaluation Subcommittee, opposed Sheehy's motion although he indicated he was willing to permit the full board to select the heads of the evaluation panel. Sheehy's motion failed on a vote of 5-15 with four self-recusals and two abstentions.

Directors Robert Azziz, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars of Sinai in Los Angeles, and Carmen Puliafito, dean of the USC School of Medicine, expressed concern about the composition of the committee. Azziz said he wanted to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest. Puliafito said that the membership could give the appearance of "self-dealing."

The process was finally approved on an 18-5 vote with one self-recusal and two abstentions.

The board will make a decision on the chairs at a later date.

Here is the structure of the subcommittee as presented during today's board meeting. It will include:

• The chair and vice chairs of the Governance(Sherry Lansing), Finance (Michael Goldberg) and Legislative(CIRM Chairman Robert Klein) directors subcommittees.
• The chairs of the IP Task Force(Ed Penhoet) and the Biotech Loan Task Force (Duane Roth, who is also vice chair of the CIRM board of directors).
• The vice chairs or acting vice chair or co-chair where applicable of the Grants(Joan Samuelson or Sheehy), Standards (Lansing), Facilities (David Serrano Sewell) working groups.
• Two members appointed by the board but not yet named.
• The chair (Klein) and vice chairs (Roth and Art Torres)of the board except when they are the subject of an evaluation.

Emory Scientist Named to Key Post at California Stem Cell Agency

Emory University scientist Marie Csete today was named as the new chief scientific officer at California's $3 billion stem cell agency.

Csete (see photo) is only the second person to fill the key position, which has been vacant since last fall. Arlene Chiu resigned at that time after filling the position since 2005.

Alan O. Trounson, president of CIRM, said in a news release:

"Her training and experience as both a basic researcher and clinician is critical to our strategy of advancing discoveries into the translational pipeline. In addition, her expertise in the field of transplantation and understanding of immunology issues will be highly relevant to advancing new discoveries in the stem cell field toward therapies and cures."

CIRM also quoted Harvard's Stuart H. Orkin, who is also chair of the group at CIRM that performs scientific reviews of grants, as saying,

"I am very pleased that Dr. Marie Csete will assume the Chief Scientific Officer position at CIRM. She was an active and insightful member of the Scientific Working Group. Her leadership will ensure that CIRM meets its potential for the state of California."

CIRM's news release, which is not yet available on its website, also said,

"Prior to joining the CIRM, Dr. Csete was John E. Steinhaus Professor of Anesthesiology at Emory University, with adjunct appointment in Cell Biology, and program faculty appointments in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Neurosciences, and the Emory/Georgia Tech Biomedical Engineering Program. She was also the director of Liver Transplant Anesthesiology at the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta and director of the Emory/Georgia Tech Human Embryonic Stem Cell Core, and co-Director of the Emory MD/PhD Program.

"Dr. Csete graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Music and received her M.D. from Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons. After residency and fellowship training at the Massachusetts General Hospital and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, she was Assistant Professor in Residence at the University of California, San Francisco where she directed the liver transplant anesthesiology team."

Brief comments from Csete appeared on this website last October in defense of secrecy of the names of applicants for stem cell lab construction grants. The agency refused to release the names at that time, but in December decided that they should be public so that they could raise matching funds for their grant applications.

She will earn $310,000 a year at CIRM and will receive $20,000 in moving expenses.

Hawgood Joins CIRM Directors

The California stem cell agency has its second Aussie on board, Sam Hawgood, who joined CIRM's Oversight Committee at its meeting in Burlingame earlier this month.

Hawgood (see photo) replaces David Kessler, the former dean of medicine at UC San Francisco, on the Oversight Committee. Kessler was fired as dean in December and could no longer serve on the Oversight Committee. California law states that the Hawgood/Kessler position must be filled by an executive officer from a UC campus with a medical school. The appointment is made by the chancellor at UC San Francisco.

Hawgood emigrated from Australia in 1982. Another Australian, Alan Trounson, was named last year as president of CIRM. Here is part of what UCSF had to say about Hawgood at the time Kessler was fired.

"Hawgood was named chair of pediatrics in 2004 and physician in chief of UCSF Children’s Hospital, one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals. He also has been instrumental in laying plans for construction of a new children’s hospital at UCSF Mission Bay. He is currently president of the UCSF Medical Group, which represents more than 900 physicians at UCSF."

Neither CIRM nor UCSF issued a news release on Hawgood's appointment nor does the CIRM website yet contain any biographical material on Hawgood.

Trounson Resume and Management Experience

The resume of Alan Trounson, the new president of the $3 billion California stem cell agency, is 70 pages long and you can find it here. Here is a document from CIRM on his management experience.

Dr. Alan Trounson Management Experience
1990-Present
I. Director, Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories (2004- Present)

• Developed this lab and continues to direct it

• Deputy Director Richard Boyd

• 120 people

• 50 PhD students

• 30 PIs/Senior PIs

• Administrative staff

• Research Support staff

• Finance staff

• Facilities staff

II. Founder, Australian Stem Cell Centre (2003)

• Chief Executive Officer, 2003

• Executive Vice-Chairman, 2003-2006

• Secured funding from Australian Government to found

III. Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development

• Director, 2002-2003

• Assistant Director, 1990-2002

• 250+ people

• Now named Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR

Trounson's Business Activities

Alan Trounson, just named as president of the California stem cell, agency, has said he will divest any interests he has in stem cell companies. Here is a list of companies that Trounson founded. The list was provided by CIRM.

Abstracts of Companies Founded by Alan Trounson
1. Infertility Medical Centre/ Monash IVF Pty Ltd (http://www.monashivf.com )

- Established 1978 as a company providing services to infertile couples. In 1982 the original company was absorbed by Monash University as 51% ownership, with the majority other ownership by private gynaecologists who manage the patient treatments. The primary activity is now to service patients requiring IVF and related therapies and diagnosis of inheritable genetic diseases using preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Largest provider in Australia – New Zealand. Clinics in Victoria and Queensland. Presently in sale mode for $100mill+

2. Sydney IVF Pty Ltd (http://www.sydneyivf.com )

- Founded by Trounson and Dr R Jansen in 1986 for provision of infertility services in Sydney. Sydney IVF has international clinical and business relationships in infertility services and stem cell provider activities (eg. GMP embryonic stem cells to ESI Pte Ltd., Huntington’s Disease embryonic stem cell lines to US distributor)

3. Intergramed America Inc (http://www.intergramed.com )

- The company was founded by Robert Moses (foundation CEO), Vicki Baldwin, David Beams and Trounson in 1984 as IVF Australia Inc/ then IVF America Inc, initiating new IVF clinical services and for provision of services in women's health care and physician practice. The management company focuses on infertility and assisted reproductive technology. Raised $20mill as public float on NYSE. Present market cap ~ $80mill. Services provided to clinics nationally across the US and is one of the largest providers in the US.

4. Embryonic Stem Cells International (ESI) Pte (http://www.escellinternational.com )

- Founded by Trounson and Drs Pera, Reubinoff, Bongso in 2000 to support our research in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Commercial rights and IP to the initial 6 ESC lines developed by the founders were transferred to ESI. These ESCs are part of the “NIH recognised” cell lines and were the subject of the change in ESC support by NIH when Trounson and colleagues applied for NIH funding under President Clinton’s administration. The initial investment was obtained equally from Business Angels associates from the Melbourne community and the Economic Development Board of Singapore. The company was registered in Singapore. Carl Strachan (Melbourne) chaired the Board and the foundation CEO was Robert Klupacs (previously Commercial Manager of Institute Reproduction and Development under Trounson’s directorship}. The company provided the initial financial support for


Trounson and Pera at Monash, Reubinoff at Hadassa Medical Center, Jerusalem and Bongso at National University of Singapore. The company focused their commercial interests under Alan Coleman (CEO) for ESCs and diabetes (funding Drs Elefanty and Stanley in Trounson’s Centre) and ESCs and cardiac therapy (funding Dr Christine Mummery, Utrecht, Holland).
Trounson and his wife exited all shareholdings in ESI Pte in 2002 to avoid conflict of interest of management with the award of the National Stem Cell Center.

5. Maccine Pte (http://www.maccine.com)
Maccine was founded by Trounson in 2002 with Australian investors to provide primate discovery support services to Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies worldwide. The initial facilities were based at the Primate Research Center in Bogor, Indonesia and was moved to Bin Tan Island under Singapore lease to develop a new state of the art primate center to service Singapore and world commercial interests. The Singapore Development Corporation now has the majority ownership and the Australian parent company (Trounson – Chairman of Board) is being dissolved. The business involves the development of primate efficacy models in various therapeutic areas (e.g. cognition, diabetes, cardiovascular, pain, oncology); pharmacokinetic screening and ranking; and early toxicokinetic evaluation of candidate drugs for use in human medicine.

6. CopyRat/InjenKO Pty Ltd.
CopyRat is a spinout company from Monash University founded by Trounson in 2001 that was developing novel gene-targeting and stem cell technology in the rat in order to supply Knockout animals as models for human diseases.
IngenKO was a subsidiary of CopyRat Pty Ltd, a company formed in 2002 by Drs Hertzog and Trounson that aimed to become a world leading supplier of mouse and rat models of human disease to the biomedical industry. The investment was limited to $4mill by local Melbourne investors and despite limited cash flow from providing mouse Knockout and Knock in services to non-profit organizations and biotech companies, Monash University decided to close the merged company in 2005 because of the limited capital available.

7. National (Australian) Stem Cell Center (http:// www.nscc.edu.au/ascc)
- Trounson (with help of David de Kretser, Monash University, now Governor of Victoria), Dianna DeVore (US patent attorney), Bob Moses (biotechnology business leader) and colleagues won the national competitive grant for the first Australian Biotechnology Centre of Excellence, the National Stem Cell Center (now the Australian Stem Cell Centre - ASCC) in 2002. Funding was from the Australian Government to the tune of ~A$110 million over 10 years supplemented by other Federal and State funds, and provided support for a national endeavour for building strong platforms in adult and embryonic stem
cell research. The key scientists at the onset included Paul Simmons (adult mesenchymal stem cells), Peter Rathjen (mouse embryonic and neural stem cells), Martin Pera (human ES cells), Bernie Tuch (clinical diabetes research), Harvey (adult cardiac stem cells and heart repair), Mal Horne (neural stem cells and Neuro degeneration), Andrew Elefanty and Ed Stanley (embryonic stem cells differentiation into blood and pancreatic lineages), Richard Boyd (thymic immunology and stem cells) and Trounson (embryonic and adult stem cells and respiratory repair). A Board of Governors drawn from business, law, academia, ethics and politics heads the ASCC. A Stakeholders Committee represents the Research and Academic Institutions involved and reports to the Australian Government through a Deed of Agreement. The founding Chairman of the Board was R. Moses, CEO was Trounson, and COO was DeVore. Trounson stepped down to head a new research institute at Monash 2004 (Monash Immunology and Stem cell laboratories) and was made Deputy Chairman of the Board and Global International Strategic Advisor. These positions were concluded in 2006 and 2007, respectively.