tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-100008912024-03-15T18:10:23.837-07:00California Stem Cell ReportWith more than 3.0 million page views and more than 5,000 items, this blog provides news and commentary on public policy, business and economic issues related to the $3 billion California stem cell agency. David Jensen, a retired California newsman, has published this blog since January 2005. His email address is djensen@californiastemcellreport.com.David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.comBlogger4926125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-54812576893934781132022-03-04T17:13:00.000-08:002022-03-04T17:13:08.032-08:00The California Stem Cell Report Has Moved<p>Looking for the latest information and news about California's $12 billion stem cell and gene therapy research agency? <a href="https://david293.substack.com/">We have moved to this new platform.</a> </p><p>Check out these recent developments.</p><h1 class="post-title long unpublished" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: #f5fcff; color: #24353d; font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 1.625em; font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 42.25px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/its-a-tale-of-ticking-clocks-and?s=w">It's a Tale of Ticking Clocks and Risky Endeavors</a></h1><h3 class="subtitle" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: #f5fcff; color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #666666))); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 20px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 8px 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/its-a-tale-of-ticking-clocks-and?s=w">The bubble baby treatment, Orchard and CIRM's future</a></h3><h1 class="post-title long unpublished" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: #f5fcff; color: #24353d; font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 1.625em; font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 42.25px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/more-than-100-crispr-patents-wiped?s=w" target="_blank">More than 100 CRISPR Patents 'Wiped Off the Face of the Earth'</a></h1><h3 class="subtitle" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: #f5fcff; color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #666666))); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 20px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 8px 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/more-than-100-crispr-patents-wiped?s=w" target="_blank">Impact on California stem cell agency awardees yet to emerge</a></h3><p><br /></p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-4658612642074289042021-12-17T17:33:00.002-08:002021-12-17T17:35:20.009-08:00Pace of State Spending in California on Cell/Gene Therapy? $38K an Hour<p>Read the latest news about the California stem cell agency on our new platform. The link below will take you there. You can subscribe free today by clicking on the button at the end of the article below. Don't miss any of the latest doings at the $12 billion <b>California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)</b>. The <b>Los Angeles Times</b> says the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b> is "indispensable" reading. More than 3 million page views can't be wrong. </p><p><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/38000-an-hour-the-current-pace-at" style="font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold);"><b>$38,000 an Hour: The Current Pace at the California Stem Cell Agency</b></a></p><h3 class="subtitle" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 8px 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/38000-an-hour-the-current-pace-at"><span style="font-size: small;">From broke to $5.5 billion in riches; the story of the last 12 months</span></a></h3><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="post-title long unpublished" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 40.1375px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/life-after-proposition-14-california"><span style="font-size: small;">Life After Proposition 14: California Stem Cell Agency's Take on Its First Year with $5.5 Billion</span></a></h1><h3 class="subtitle" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 8px 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/life-after-proposition-14-california"><span style="font-size: small;">Text of what CIRM has to say</span></a></h3></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-40825916157289657712021-08-13T18:44:00.000-07:002021-08-13T18:44:33.171-07:00Bluebird bio's $1.8 Million Setback on Gene Therapy: Is It a Growing Sign of Rejection of Reimbursement Profit Models?"Some bad news about a $1.8 million gene therapy echoed across the Atlantic Ocean this week and carries implications for California’s state stem cell agency, which also is engaged in developing so-called “one-and-done” therapies. <div><br /></div><div>" The matter involves bluebird bio of Cambridge, Mass., and its proposed Zynteglo therapy for the rare blood disorder beta thalassemia. The European Union last week refused to go along with bluebird’s price for the treatment -- $1.8 million. </div><div><br /></div><div>"Bluebird, which spells its name in all lowercase, said it would fold up its European operations...."
"This news (about bluebird) plus Orchard's departure demonstrates urgency around affordability that needs to be addressed, especially when likely sickle cell disease therapies come to fruition,” said an observer who has followed CIRM (the state stem cell agency) for years, but declined to be identified publicly.</div><div><br /></div><div>“The technology is similar to proven therapies in X-linked SCID and beta thalassemia that are languishing. Serious consideration needs to take place around utilizing ‘march-in’ rights built into CIRM's IP (intellectual property) policies to force the provision of these therapies in an affordable manner...."</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="%22This%20news%20%28about%20bluebird%29%20plus%20Orchard%27s%20departure%20demonstrates%20urgency%20around%20affordability%20that%20needs%20to%20be%20addressed,%20especially%20when%20likely%20sickle%20cell%20disease%20therapies%20come%20to%20fruition,”%20said%20an%20observer%20who%20has%20followed%20CIRM%20for%20years,%20but%20declined%20to%20be%20identified%20publicly.%20%20%20“The%20technology%20is%20similar%20to%20proven%20therapies%20in%20X-linked%20SCID%20and%20beta%20thalassemia%20that%20are%20languishing.%20%20Serious%20consideration%20needs%20to%20take%20place%20around%20utilizing%20‘march-in’%20rights%20built%20into%20CIRM%27s%20IP%20%28intellectual%20property%29%20policies%20to%20force%20the%20provision%20of%20these%20therapies%20in%20an%20affordable%20manner.%20%20">Read more on the new platform for the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b> about the growing problems with "one-and-done" therapies, bringing them to the marketplace and whether public funding models need to be changed significantly. </a></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-2283177992647020432021-06-13T09:19:00.005-07:002021-06-14T17:22:04.718-07:00Subscribe Free Today to the California Stem Cell Report -- - The Most Comprehensive Source for the Ins and Outs of California's $12 Billion Stem Cell Program<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Don't miss important fresh news and information about California's $12 billion stem cell research agency. It is charting a new course with new opportunities and significant changes in direction, including a greater emphasis on the fast-growing gene therapy field. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The changes already mean a lot for patients, researchers and policymakers and will have an even greater impact in the next several years. Tracking the agency's affairs is not easy, but you can find what you need on the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/">The California Stem Cell Report</a>. </b></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dubbed </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">"indispensable" and "authoritative" in the <b>Los Angeles Times</b>, the Report</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> is the only regular, independent source of news and information dealing with the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is news that can be found nowhere else. Plus it is comprehensive. More than 5,000 items have been published since CIRM was created in 2004. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You can subscribe free to the California Stem Cell Report on </span><a href="https://david293.substack.com/" style="font-family: verdana;">its new platform</a> <span style="font-family: verdana;">by clicking on the "Subscribe Today!" box on the upper right of this page. Or</span> j<span style="font-family: verdana;">ust go to one of the following recent stories and click on the subscribe button.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#">California Stem Cell Agency Withholds $5.8 Million from Orchard in Bubble-Baby Flap</a>; <a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#">Money to Go to New Effort Involving Compassionate Use</a></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#">California to Spend $41,000 an Hour on Stem Cell Research</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#">'Boiling the Ocean:' California Wrestles with Billion-Dollar Decisions and Stem Cell Research</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#">Feds Crack Down on Rogue Stem Cell Clinics; California Remains Unhurried</a>; <a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#">Expensive treatments are harming patients</a></span><p></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-36513733555401460292021-05-24T11:33:00.003-07:002021-05-24T11:45:07.518-07:00Read All About It: Bubble Babies Hit by Suspension of Trial for Genetic Cure; California Taxpayers Paying for Trial<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> "Indispensable" is what the <b>Los Angeles Times</b> this morning called this blog, the <b>California Stem Cell Report. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-05-24/california-stem-cell-cure-blocked">The comment came in a story that was triggered by our coverage</a> of the Orchard-CIRM-UCLA bubble baby clinical trial, which was shoved aside by Orchard Therapeutics for financial reasons. That leaves a bunch of children out in the cold as far as the genetic treatment is concerned. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">UCLA says the treatment has saved the lives of more than 50 persons. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Below is a list of the Orchard stories that we have carried on our new platform since we unearthed the issue on May 11. You can subscribe free to articles on our new home by clicking on the subscribe button in stories on the new platform. <a href="https://david293.substack.com/">Subscribe today.</a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here is the list.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/wicked-problems-otl-101-and-bubble" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Wicked' Problems, Orchard Therapeutics and Bubble Babies: A California Stem Cell Story</a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/california-stem-cell-agency-pledges" style="text-decoration-line: none;">CaliforniaStem Cell Agency Pledges to Do "Everything" to Salvage Cure for Bubble Baby Disease</a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/can-a-california-march-in-save-terminally" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Can a California 'March-In' Save Terminally Ill 'Bubble Babies?'</a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/orchard-bubble-baby-disease-and-bad" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Orchard's Suspension of Bubble Baby Disease Trial Earns Sharp Rebuke</a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/bubble-baby-cancellation-story-draws"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Bubble Baby Cancellation Story Draws Attention in California's Largest Newspaper</span></a></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><br /></p><p><br /></p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-92184909550075121572021-04-04T07:51:00.002-07:002021-04-04T12:24:29.720-07:00Essential Reading on California's Ground-Breaking, $12 Billion, Stem Cell/Gene Therapy Research Program<p> Don't miss out on news and information on the $12 billion California stem cell agency. </p><p>Its activities affect the lives of thousands of people and have the potential to affect the lives of millions of more. Not to mention that it is venturing into new areas of health policy and research. </p><p>Subscribe today to the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b> on its new platform. <a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/its-essential-reading-subscribe-today">You can do so by clicking here and tapping the subscribe button. </a> Plus it's free. </p><p data-pm-context="[]">Cited as “indispensable” in <strong>the Los Angeles Times</strong>, the <strong>California Stem Cell Report</strong> is the only independent voice regularly reporting on the activities of the <strong>California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)</strong>, as the stem cell agency is officially known. In 2012, the <strong>Institute of Medicine</strong> invited the publisher of this site to testify during its $700,000 evaluation of CIRM. </p><p>This report has covered CIRM since its inception in 2004 and has published more than 5,000 items and attracted more than 3 million page views. </p><p>It is essential reading if you have something at stake in what CIRM does and how it spends its money.</p><p>Here are links to recent articles on the California Stem Cell Report's new platform. </p><h1 class="post-title long unpublished" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 1.625em; font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 40.1375px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/californias-surge-on-sickle-cell">California's Sickle Cell Surge: Researchers Tackle Disease with First-Ever, Gene-Editing Clinical Trial</a></h1><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="post-title long unpublished" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 1.625em; font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 40.1375px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/how-does-a-cirm-work-californias">How Does a CIRM Work? California's Stem Cell Agency Offers Up Trail Guide to Its Ambitious $12 Billion Program</a></h1></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="post-title long unpublished" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 1.625em; font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 40.1375px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/what-do-california-voters-want-from">What Do California Voters Want from Their Stem Cell Agency’s Multibillion-Dollar Smorgasbord?</a></h1></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-84339366001139370982021-03-26T09:31:00.003-07:002021-03-26T09:31:51.589-07:00<div style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px;"><h1 style="font-size: 1.625em; line-height: 40.1375px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://david293.substack.com/p/boiling-the-ocean-california-wrestles&source=gmail&ust=1616862142374000&usg=AFQjCNHdKM3WSUvmS8wHf_4ZrHTSyf9u9g" href="https://david293.substack.com/p/boiling-the-ocean-california-wrestles" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Boiling the Ocean:' California Wrestles with Billion-Dollar Decisions and Stem Cell Research</a></h1><h3 style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 4px 0px 0px;">What Does 'Unlikely' Mean?</h3><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 12px; word-break: break-word;"><div style="margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%253A%252F%252Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fpublic%252Fimages%252F39b7827b-4a17-4cad-a31f-f6aee9dff2b6_647x409.png&source=gmail&ust=1616862142374000&usg=AFQjCNF50EW5bpigBvJfLZ62iPbn_eS7gw" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F39b7827b-4a17-4cad-a31f-f6aee9dff2b6_647x409.png" style="border: none; color: #1155cc; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="CToWUd" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjCxS3UmuLrOTuusJZawRP7XcfE7-IZLgbHao5XNq_VTs0RdjLpx8r8VFSCQ9E097BC3gRYadShbRNXf2td-eWSNo4idfmh2rcsW2is9HxgzAMSKe9cwhfYSCiFDHBnKmhYeuhub9dfx7M1bg7amLFlmqjDX1LSLZ0Yz4SQGxvQYO6VWd5I0evv77Z8bjMYPAqMhiIXEA70IifpqmbLW26DybfT_WrSscO-GzSQ9LM5H_rzZ6_hX4C_QzUD4rrr6xIR_0VA9QP8ihrxqGpd8jNZvkk2aD-br5FsU9xAvieuS5ec3jecqSiaAp5No7qvXVruii3o3GYJheVMbkpXodsMGAudmgnRJ6m8gCdl1xUhVxBQrkLOXAPXWow6xEzNzTpeZ1yxDbivkhLqmA=s0-d-e1-ft,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F39b7827b-4a17-4cad-a31f-f6aee9dff2b6_647x409.png" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-height: 409px; max-width: 647px; width: 646.995px;" /></a>Photo: License Dashboard</div><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><i><b>The talk at the California stem cell agency this week was of ”boiling the ocean,” the meaning of “unlikely” and “DEI.” All of which involves how $5.5 billion in taxpayer dollars will be used over the next decade or so....</b></i></p><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/">Read all about it on the new platform for the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b>.</a> And please subscribe on the new site to keep seeing the most complete and independent source of information on the doings at the state's $12 billion therapy development enterprise. </p><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><br /></p></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-82359438871508185172021-03-18T07:22:00.000-07:002021-03-18T07:22:21.955-07:00The Latest: Deciding who Decides Who Gets California's Stem Cell Billions<p>CIRM directors tomorrow take up the matter of how the agency chooses the judges of applications for billions of California stem cell research dollars. You can read more about what's in store on the new platform of the <a href="https://david293.substack.com/"><b>California Stem Cell Report</b>. </a></p><p>You can also make sure you don't miss any of the news by subscribing free. It's easy. Just click on the subscribe button when you go to the link below. </p><div style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: small;"><h1 style="font-size: 1.625em; line-height: 40.1375px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://david293.substack.com/p/who-should-be-a-stem-cell-judge-for&source=gmail&ust=1616161321225000&usg=AFQjCNF29-yyEAmTkXUt22KLdA3gevcVlg" href="https://david293.substack.com/p/who-should-be-a-stem-cell-judge-for" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Who Should be a Stem Cell Judge for California's $12 Billion Research Agency?</a></h1><h3 style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 4px 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Looking at how scientists are chosen to score grant applications</span></h3><div><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: small;"></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 12px; word-break: break-word;"><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">The California stem cell agency has released <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/210319%2520Agenda%2520Item%2520%25233%2520GWG%2520Recruitment%2520process%2520presentation.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1616161321225000&usg=AFQjCNE3LktQL0UVnBwEBYip03EaTA4plQ" href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/210319%20Agenda%20Item%20%233%20GWG%20Recruitment%20process%20presentation.pdf" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">its plans to revise the process of choosing the folks</a> who make the de facto decisions on billions of dollars in research awards.</p><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">The revisions grew out of a meeting last month of <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cirm.ca.gov/node/10211&source=gmail&ust=1616161321225000&usg=AFQjCNGgcce7y0N1KoEqmESZfR96ZuwEpQ" href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/node/10211" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the governing board</a> of the $12 billion agency, officially called the <strong>California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).</strong></p><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://david293.substack.com/p/gatekeepers-for-billions-in-stem&source=gmail&ust=1616161321225000&usg=AFQjCNE4POgMLwWMWjeldtfa5NzSVPTv-g" href="https://david293.substack.com/p/gatekeepers-for-billions-in-stem" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Some directors sought</a> more diversity among as many as 300 scientists who are tapped to review applications for awards. One director sought assurances that the process would lead to the selection of the most talented scientists, ones who also could be counted on work positively with others during the review process....</p></div><p><br /></p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-84937690561198909962021-03-13T07:50:00.003-08:002021-03-13T07:55:44.752-08:00Subscribe Today to the Leading Source of Information on a $12 Billion Source of Stem Cell Research Funding<p> It's time to subscribe -- free! -- to the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b>, which has moved to a new platform. </p><p>Don't miss news and information concerning critical developments at the $12 billion California stem cell agency. It is the leading, independent and reliable source for all that happens at the <b>California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).</b> </p><p>With more than 3 million page views and more than 5,000 items during the last 16 years, the Report's readers range from researchers throughout California to across the nation. Not to mention policymakers and entrepreneurs in the burgeoning stem cell field. "Indispensable" is how the Los Angeles Times described the California Stem Cell Report.</p><p>You can subscribe on the blog's new platform while reading the latest CIRM news. Please do it today. Here are recent links and excerpts that will take you to the location where you can subscribe with just one click. </p><p><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/telling-the-california-stem-cell" style="background-color: white; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.625em; text-decoration-line: none;">Telling the California Stem Cell Story: A Matter of Billions of Dollars</a></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px;"><h3 class="subtitle" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 4px 0px 0px;">Building a Base of Voter Support</h3><table class="meta-author-wrap with-photo" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><tbody><tr><td><div class="user-head"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/people/4839649-david-jensen"><div class="profile-img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><img height="0" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_90,h_90,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F70fc05b2-2a9b-414d-a48f-8b590e96ea97_4032x3024.jpeg" style="border-radius: 50%; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 45px; width: 45px;" width="0" /></div></a></div></td><td><div class="meta-right-column" style="line-height: 1em; margin-left: 12px;"><div class="meta-author" style="color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/people/4839649-david-jensen" style="text-decoration-line: none;">David Jensen</a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="post-meta custom" style="margin: 0px;"><tbody><tr><td class="post-meta-item post-date" style="color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: var(--font_family_ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"); font-size: 14px; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 12px 0px 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap;">23 hr ago</td><td class="post-meta-item icon" style="color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: var(--font_family_ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"); 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font-size: 19px;"></div><div class="body markup" style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 12px; word-break: break-word;"><div class="captioned-image-container" style="margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><figure style="display: inline-block; margin: 0px auto; width: 727.993px;"><a class="image-link image2 image2-261-496" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F363865ec-7d00-40bf-877e-87234eb970bb_400x210.png" style="border: none; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/363865ec-7d00-40bf-877e-87234eb970bb_400x210.png","height":210,"width":400,"resizeWidth":496,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null}" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F363865ec-7d00-40bf-877e-87234eb970bb_400x210.png" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-height: 260.4px; max-width: 496px; width: 495.998px;" /></a></figure></div><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, #1a1a1a); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 1.16em; margin: 1em 0px 0.625em;">Can the stork be relied on to bring stem cell cash?</h5><p style="color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, #1a1a1a); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"></p><p style="color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, #1a1a1a); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"></p><p style="color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, #1a1a1a); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">The respected California news service <strong>Capitol Weekly</strong> this week brought the exploits of the state’s $12 billion stem cell agency to a much wider audience than normal -- one that includes policymakers, lobbyists, lawmakers and even some information-hungry folks in the general public. </p><p style="color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, #1a1a1a); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">The case in point involves <a href="https://capitolweekly.net/uc-davis-first-clinical-trial-of-stem-cells-to-treat-spina-bifida/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the $17 million provided by the stem cell agency to help finance the world’s first clinical trial to treat spina bifida in the womb.</a> ....</p><div class="post-header"><h1 class="post-title long unpublished" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, #1a1a1a); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 1.625em; font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 40.1375px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/bulldogs-and-babies-worlds-first" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Bulldogs and Babies: World's First Trial to Treat Spina Bifida in the Womb</a></h1><h3 class="subtitle" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 4px 0px 0px;">UC Davis Research Began More than 10 Years Ago</h3><table class="meta-author-wrap with-photo" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><tbody><tr><td><div class="user-head"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/people/4839649-david-jensen"><div class="profile-img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><img height="0" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_90,h_90,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F70fc05b2-2a9b-414d-a48f-8b590e96ea97_4032x3024.jpeg" style="border-radius: 50%; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 45px; width: 45px;" width="0" /></div></a></div></td><td><div class="meta-right-column" style="line-height: 1em; margin-left: 12px;"><div class="meta-author" style="color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/people/4839649-david-jensen" style="text-decoration-line: none;">David Jensen</a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="post-meta custom" style="margin: 0px;"><tbody><tr><td class="post-meta-item post-date" style="color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: var(--font_family_ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"); font-size: 14px; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 12px 0px 0px; 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background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.07) 0px 0px 10px; font-family: var(--font_family_ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"); left: 10px; list-style: none; margin: 1em 0px; max-width: 280px; opacity: 0; padding: 4px 0px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; text-indent: 0px; top: 21px; transform: translateX(-50%) translateY(-20%) scale(0.7); transition: transform 0.1s ease-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-out 0s; user-select: none; z-index: 1;"><div class="dropdown-menu-tail" style="border-bottom: 8px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-right: 8px solid transparent; content: ""; height: 0px; margin: -9px -8px 0px 0px; position: absolute; right: 59.8918px; top: 0px; width: 0px;"></div><div class="dropdown-menu-tail-shadow" style="border-bottom: 8px solid white; border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-right: 8px solid transparent; content: ""; height: 0px; margin: -8px -8px 0px 0px; position: absolute; right: 59.8918px; top: 0px; width: 0px;"></div><div class="dropdown-menu-wrapper" style="max-height: 320px; overflow-y: auto;"><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/publish/post/33512158" style="color: #1a1a1a; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 10px; text-decoration-line: none; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Edit post</a></li><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;"><a role="button" style="color: #1a1a1a; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 10px; text-overflow: ellipsis;" tabindex="0">Exclude from Top</a></li></div></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div></div><div class="body markup" style="margin-bottom: 12px; word-break: break-word;"><div class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{"videoId":"YtwrG0PVOPo","startTime":null,"endTime":null}" id="youtube2-YtwrG0PVOPo" style="height: 0px; margin: 1.6em 0px; padding-top: 409.495px; position: relative; width: 727.993px;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" gesture="media" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/YtwrG0PVOPo?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; display: block; height: 409.495px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 727.993px;"></iframe></div><h6 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, #1a1a1a); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 1.16em; margin: 1em 0px 0.625em;">Bulldog pups were tested earlier in the spina bifida research and came out lively. UCD video</h6><p style="color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, #1a1a1a); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"></p><p style="color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, #1a1a1a); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-progress/people/diana-farmer" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Backed by $17 million in cash</a> from California’s stem cell agency, researchers at UC Davis this month are launching “the world’s first clinical trial using stem cells to treat spina bifida before the child is born.”...</p></div></div><p> </p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-15966853072734597142021-03-08T08:16:00.000-08:002021-03-08T08:16:56.326-08:00California Stem Cell Flashback: When CIRM Was Homeless and Without an HQ<p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIAHjiPWturij1MTKjWvqbgwLJARHXOMqzvCtKogLMjkJJdFTxP_nlIjMuj2KaLh9LXM7O7YyhtVV5crEv_U-maT70yxG9P6f43wrSx4LAs3TmdB0Rw7ycVoomHq58orWBal_3Q/s2803/IMG_20190523_090312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="2803" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIAHjiPWturij1MTKjWvqbgwLJARHXOMqzvCtKogLMjkJJdFTxP_nlIjMuj2KaLh9LXM7O7YyhtVV5crEv_U-maT70yxG9P6f43wrSx4LAs3TmdB0Rw7ycVoomHq58orWBal_3Q/w400-h160/IMG_20190523_090312.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">CIRM is now based in Oakland. Here is what it looked like prior to a CIRM board<br /> meeting in 2019. The view from the 16th floor includes the San Francisco Bay. <br />Photo: California Stem Cell Report</span></td></tr></tbody></table><em></em></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><em><em><span style="font-family: verdana;">Editor’s note: Sixteen years ago California’s stem cell program was basically homeless. It had barely come into being. It had no way to pay its bills or even employees. <a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/a-california-stem-cell-flashback">This link will take you to an item from Jan. 25, 2005, on the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b> that captures a slice of what it was like back then.</a> It also comments on today's situation at the agency's headquarters in Oakland, where space needs appear to be changing. </span></em></em></p><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><em><span style="font-family: verdana;">Speaking of changes, the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b> has moved to a new platform. Be sure to <a href="https://david293.substack.com/">subscribe free</a> on the new site so that you don't miss out on information that goes to researchers and policy makers throughout the state. </span></em></p><br />David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-43055205706523310732021-02-26T16:24:00.002-08:002021-02-26T17:30:57.954-08:00$165 Million for Stem Cell Education and Training in California<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AvlXa79xgB8bO_dFdSLBiNChZsoe1J7mAVEpS8IEUR81CsiolMWb8jRDo-ObTwW4o8TfJqX0dAoadFw5fAzy9p28iSqcZrKKiK2dZ8epViFNSmVx9hLc27PfmdmdikhAjef86w/s600/2016+cirm+bridges+meeting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AvlXa79xgB8bO_dFdSLBiNChZsoe1J7mAVEpS8IEUR81CsiolMWb8jRDo-ObTwW4o8TfJqX0dAoadFw5fAzy9p28iSqcZrKKiK2dZ8epViFNSmVx9hLc27PfmdmdikhAjef86w/w400-h266/2016+cirm+bridges+meeting.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />California's ambitious stem cell agency is in the midst of determining how it is going to spend $5.5 billion over the next decade or so. Its decisions are likely to affect millions of patients desperate for therapies and cures for afflictions ranging from cancer to diabetes. That is not to mention the agency's impact on health care policy and the thousands of scientists, technicians and others in their California laboratories. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The go-to source for <u>independent</u> information about the programs of the stem cell agency is this blog, which has readers in every major stem cell research organization in the Golden State, the <b>National Institutes of Health</b> and the <b>Food and Drug Administration</b>. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Over the last 16 years, the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b> has brought its readers exclusive information and news that can be found nowhere else. It has chronicled CIRM's accomplishments and its missteps over the years. And it is essential reading as CIRM wades into gene therapy, affordability efforts, personalized medicine and much more. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Here are links and excerpts from this week's </span><a href="https://david293.substack.com/"><b>California Stem Cell Report</b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">, which has moved to a new platform as it chronicles the latest chapters in the life of the agency known officially as the <b>California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)</b>. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Subscribe to the "new" version of this blog through the "subscribe" buttons that can be found on its new platform at Substack. Three-million "views" of the site can't be wrong.</span></span></p><h1 class="post-title long unpublished" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 1.625em; font-weight: var(--font_weight_headings_preset, bold); line-height: 40.1375px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/">California Approves $165 Million for Stem Cell Training and Education</a></h1><h3 class="subtitle" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, #757575))); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 4px 0px 0px;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/">Relaunches Touted Programs at Academic Institutions</a></h3><div><br /></div><div><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">California’s stem cell agency today pumped an additional $165 million into its efforts to beef up the Golden State’s stem cell workforce, but not without a rumpus involving the actual cost of each additional worker, who range from technicians to physicians. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">The agency and many of its 35-board members have touted the programs, which have been underway for a number of years. But earlier versions of the program, as well as the latest proposal, have not included a price tag for each of what the agency calls “ready-to-start” professionals. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">That led to a contentious discussion among governing board members during which a variety of high-level figures surfaced. One calculation by a board member generated a cost of $1 million per person per year (video at end of this item).</p></div><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-70131900960713332952021-02-23T18:05:00.001-08:002021-02-23T18:05:54.859-08:00"Hotel California" for Golden State Stem Cell Research? Plus the Bad Tidings on a $16 Million Clinical Trial Investment<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here are links and excerpts from items this morning on the <a href="https://david293.substack.com/"><b>California Stem Cell Report</b></a>, which has moved to a new platform. Don't miss the exclusive and news about California's $12 billion stem cell/gene therapy program, including information that can be found nowhere else. Subscribe to the "semi-new" version of this blog through the "subscribe" buttons that can be found on the new site. Three-million "views" of the site can't be wrong. </span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://david293.substack.com/&source=gmail&ust=1614218115657000&usg=AFQjCNEzL77aUO5I7RFXHM_rLbvmVq5lpw" href="https://david293.substack.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;"> CIRM 'Hotel California' for Stem Cell Research? But Bad News in a California Stem Cell Trial</span></a></div><div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px;"></div><div style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; margin-bottom: 12px; word-break: break-word;"><div style="font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%253A%252F%252Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fpublic%252Fimages%252F414db2dd-038f-4ff0-bec7-90f3606850ef_512x407.jpeg&source=gmail&ust=1614218115658000&usg=AFQjCNGU8szUdXb083crEAaxxoncW8YeHw" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F414db2dd-038f-4ff0-bec7-90f3606850ef_512x407.jpeg" style="border: none; color: #1155cc; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="CToWUd" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhsPKxPvMLlH4Wo1aeyP9rd6Hn-_eysMYNdpHp8__7BRA2AkgUCMVyTh45dxKC2vmtuwhL2ShTFgfeyJXTfios3FQAVYDjIjXWtFKtxFH7juSWVZs8XW_Q1Cr-rtEfuv9tQ_hf27b7mHMJG5xs9kJDfMCtowDpQaamwevp6V91u3Y3PX_USIViFiHD4G5MAfHLhrKidDeGMaQYuoeyb9VNdlYlr6LdlUvjbvCuWLPwulgDbg9bjUQ7WnKh6HGENBCdwEcoMfaCINroA5sYWZUyozjqo_kYRdHp6okHtUvP9-kH1fLhrVXe4Ae1kvLaWXqrM51fMKzUinAwMp6KXd9BYuiLmvodB94chHmp99QQxQNrFrr0UI58bdJ0YEQA1YZeAWPYxmdRiTzvYUHQ=s0-d-e1-ft,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F414db2dd-038f-4ff0-bec7-90f3606850ef_512x407.jpeg" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-height: 407px; max-width: 512px; width: 511.995px;" /></a></div><h6 style="font-size: small; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 1em 0px 0.625em;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stem cell researchers yesterday discussed a possible facility in California to aid in stem cell research that was dubbed a stem-cell Hotel California after the famed Baja retreat.</span></em></h6><p style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"></p><p style="font-size: small; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">California’s rejuvenated stem cell program yesterday received bad news about a $16 million clinical trial investment but also heard glowing praise from stem cell researchers who suggested ways to spend $5.5 billion more. </p><p style="font-size: small; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">It all happened during a nearly five-hour session Monday morning devoted to crafting a new, five-year strategic plan for the <strong>California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)</strong>, as the agency is formally known. The meeting came in the wake of voter passage last fall of <strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://david293.substack.com/p/pluses-and-minuses-the-new-look-at&source=gmail&ust=1614218115658000&usg=AFQjCNGCe_V59NqHat1-5nl2KLCHh21FCg" href="https://david293.substack.com/p/pluses-and-minuses-the-new-look-at" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Proposition 14</a></strong>, which saved the agency from death by a lack of dollars..... </p><h1 style="font-size: small; line-height: 40.1375px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://david293.substack.com/p/text-of-statement-by-amander-clark&source=gmail&ust=1614218115658000&usg=AFQjCNG81KYaRYW7HoWO7Fssgons-uIewg" href="https://david293.substack.com/p/text-of-statement-by-amander-clark" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Text of Statement by Amander Clark of UCLA on Future Direction of California's Stem Cell Program</span></a></h1><h3 style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 4px 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Clark's Talk was Aimed at Needs in Basic Research</span></h3></div></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-21190219268914768852021-02-09T08:40:00.001-08:002021-02-09T08:40:48.437-08:00Looking for Work? California's Stem Cell Agency Needs 11 Good People<span style="font-family: verdana;">California’s ambitious stem cell research agency is now hiring as part of its renewed search for treatments and therapies, fueled by a fresh infusion of $5.5 billion courtesy of the people of the Golden State.</span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#">You can read all about the new jobs on the <b>California Stem Cell Report'</b>s new platform.</a> The article includes links to job descriptions, salaries and much more. Here is an excerpt:<br /><br />“'Our team of highly trained and experienced professionals,' the agency says, 'actively partners with both academia and industry in a hands-on, entrepreneurial environment to fast-track the development of today’s most promising stem cell and regenerative medicine technologies.'<br /><br />"The Oakland, Ca.-based agency is officially known as <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/">the </a><a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/">California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).</a> It says it 'is the world’s largest institution dedicated to helping people by bringing the promise of regenerative medicine closer to reality.'<br /><br />"At last report, the 16-year-old agency had 32 employees, down from a peak of more than 60 a few years back. But it has <a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/pluses-and-minuses-the-new-look-at">new and expanded responsibilities under </a><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/pluses-and-minuses-the-new-look-at">Proposition 14.</a>...."</span><br /></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-29261602227738264292021-02-04T18:18:00.000-08:002021-02-04T18:18:08.388-08:00Don't Miss Critical Information and News about California's $12 Billion Stem Cell Program<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The <b><a href="https://david293.substack.com/">California Stem Cell Report</a></b> has moved to another platform, but you can still subscribe free to the latest news and information about the Golden State's $12 billion stem cell research program. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">For more than 16 years, the report has brought to its readers an independent perspective unfettered by government and industry ties. Read the <b><a href="https://david293.substack.com/">California Stem Cell Report</a></b> if you want to know what is going on at the state stem cell program, which operates with no legislative or gubernatorial oversight. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The <b><a href="https://david293.substack.com/">California Stem Cell Report</a></b> is essential reading for policy makers, stem cell company executives, scientists and patient advocates. Subscribe now. </span><div><pre style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-radius: 4px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; outline: none; overflow-y: scroll; padding: 8px 12px; position: relative; width: 618.786px;"><br /></pre></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://david293.substack.com/embed" style="background: white; border: 1px solid #EEE;" width="480"></iframe></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-53897758997852648482021-01-26T14:03:00.001-08:002021-01-26T15:29:35.895-08:00CIRM Lays Out New Path: Funding More Buildings, More Research and Into New Territories (Personalized Medicine, Therapy Delivery)<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">California’s stem cell agency has for the first time laid out in some detail its view of the sweeping scope of its new charter -- approved by voters last fall and which directs the program into areas such as personalized medicine and therapy delivery over the next decade or so. </span></span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><div style="color: #1a1a1a; margin-bottom: 12px; word-break: break-word;"><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The agency’s perspective<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cirm.ca.gov/agendas/01152021/january-2021-icoc-meeting&source=gmail&ust=1611784520718000&usg=AFQjCNEQo-hfMn-C5-_jninpCvn7-77f6g" href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/agendas/01152021/january-2021-icoc-meeting" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> will be discussed in public Thursday morning before its 35-member governing board.</a> The new path is charted in the form <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/210128%2520Agenda%2520Item%2520%25236%2520Re%2520Prop.%252014%2520FINAL%2520%252800428709xAEB03%2529.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1611784520718000&usg=AFQjCNHO0mnINcUEwnAIHOqG_YaUGoQVTg" href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/210128%20Agenda%20Item%20%236%20Re%20Prop.%2014%20FINAL%20%2800428709xAEB03%29.pdf" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">of 17 pages of slides</a> plus <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/210128%2520Agenda%2520Item%2520%25236%2520CA%2520Stem%2520Cell%2520Research%252C%2520Treatment%252C%2520and%2520Cures%25202020%2520--%2520Proposition%252014%2520ANNOTATION%2520%252800427176xAEB03%2529.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1611784520718000&usg=AFQjCNGaUTCkojxj1w6ELVvFQXBZMoCOhg" href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/210128%20Agenda%20Item%20%236%20CA%20Stem%20Cell%20Research%2C%20Treatment%2C%20and%20Cures%202020%20--%20Proposition%2014%20ANNOTATION%20%2800427176xAEB03%29.pdf" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">annotations on a 17,000-word ballot initiative</a>, which is <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://david293.substack.com/p/the-charter-of-the-california-stem&source=gmail&ust=1611784520718000&usg=AFQjCNFMZZqbedF5Hthb5JspTa2xrvF_6A" href="https://david293.substack.com/p/the-charter-of-the-california-stem" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">more than twice as long as the </a><strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://david293.substack.com/p/the-charter-of-the-california-stem&source=gmail&ust=1611784520718000&usg=AFQjCNFMZZqbedF5Hthb5JspTa2xrvF_6A" href="https://david293.substack.com/p/the-charter-of-the-california-stem" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">U.S. Constitution</a></strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://david293.substack.com/p/the-charter-of-the-california-stem&source=gmail&ust=1611784520718000&usg=AFQjCNFMZZqbedF5Hthb5JspTa2xrvF_6A" href="https://david293.substack.com/p/the-charter-of-the-california-stem" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">.</a></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The documents were posted online by CIRM yesterday afternoon, two and a half days before this week’s meeting.... </span></p><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/">You can read the full item here on the new platform</a> for the California Stem Cell Report, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the only independent, news and information source devoted solely to the Golden State's stem cell research program, the first of its kind in state history. </span></p></div></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This blog's migration to a new platform is aimed at improving service to readers and helping to bring a new focus to our coverage, which began in January 2005 and which has carried in 5,000 items since then.</span></p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-42293377416312951632021-01-25T10:59:00.003-08:002021-01-25T11:07:22.756-08:00Plus and Minuses: The Proposition 14 "Christmas Tree" and its Implications<div style="margin-bottom: 12px; word-break: break-word;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #1a1a1a; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CT7BTAtb3O2p8FAC-Ydc9PKlNhh1PvVw41YBGYzY4zfbMX_yJaXH0PxUVKDMmu05QL7tLmAdZx_PR4g2RXXUsCyQgW2j1FIyJDcsPAy8KCOk4fe7KRKcMYPy4ZGlT53FVa4Wrg/s1400/stem+cell+photo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="1400" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CT7BTAtb3O2p8FAC-Ydc9PKlNhh1PvVw41YBGYzY4zfbMX_yJaXH0PxUVKDMmu05QL7tLmAdZx_PR4g2RXXUsCyQgW2j1FIyJDcsPAy8KCOk4fe7KRKcMYPy4ZGlT53FVa4Wrg/w522-h179/stem+cell+photo.jpg" width="522" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: verdana;"><br />From the exploration of mental health to "aging as a pathology," <b>Proposition 14</b> launched the California stem cell agency on a course that will take it far afield from its founding charter of 2004. </span><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Directors of the agency <a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#">will receive a briefing Thursday</a> on the details of the 17,000-word, "Christmas tree" ballot initiative. The California Stem Cell Report has prepared a deep look at many of the features of the measure, including how it could be altered if CIRM desires to take on that difficult task. Below is an excerpt from the full item, which<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#"> can be found on the new platform for this blog</a>. </span><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">-0-</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/19-0022A1%252520%252528%252528Stem%252520Cell%252520Research%252529%252529_0.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1611685995263000&usg=AFQjCNEscg5ieZ6C6MVSRBuBoOwn0pdg0w" href="https://www.oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/19-0022A1%2520%2528%2528Stem%2520Cell%2520Research%2529%2529_0.pdf" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Proposition 14</a>, last fall’s ballot measure to save California’s stem cell agency from financial extinction, contains much, much more than the $5.5 billion it sought from the state’s voters.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Added to the agency’s charter is research involving mental health, “therapy delivery,” personalized medicine and “aging as a pathology.“ That is not to mention a greater emphasis on supporting “vital research opportunities” that are not stem cell-related.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The measure enlarged the board from 29 to 35 members — seats not yet filled as of this writing. But even at 29, the board has been much criticized for its large size, which creates more possibilities for conflicts of interest, a long-standing issue for the agency.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Proposition 14 bans royalties that are generated by state-backed stem cell inventions from being used for such things as prisons and schools, isolating the funds from tinkering by lawmakers....</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">-0-</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <b>California Stem Cell Report is </b>the only independent, news and information source devoted solely to the Golden State's stem cell research program, the first of its kind in state history. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This blog's migration to a new platform is aimed at improving service to readers and helping to bring a new focus to our coverage, which began in January 2005 and which has carried in 5,000 items since then.</span></p></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-3198719343362489322021-01-24T07:00:00.001-08:002021-01-24T07:00:03.790-08:00New Home for California Stem Cell Report -- Don't Miss an Item<p>The <b><a href="https://david293.substack.com/">California Stem Cell Report</a></b> is in the process of migrating to a different platform. To be sure that you have the latest news and information concerning the California stem cell agency, <a href="https://david293.substack.com/" target="_blank">please go to this location.</a> </p><p><br /></p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-88011914171822754952021-01-22T17:54:00.000-08:002021-01-22T17:54:05.526-08:00California Stem Cell Conflicts of Interest and Their Regulation Rise Next Week<span style="font-family: verdana;">Proposition 14 left the state stem cell agency with $5.5 billion plus a significant and wide range of new issues. One involves creation of “advisory task forces,” which were not formally enabled in the ballot initiative that created CIRM 16 years ago. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Next Thursday the agency's governing board takes on conflict-of-interest rules for those new entities as its directors push into the new territory of Proposition 14. Conflicts, however, have been a bugaboo for the agency for years. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Advisory/working groups to CIRM have played a significant role in the past and may play an even greater role under the agency’s new charter. They are likely to be the venue where major new issues are hashed over and policies developed that are adopted by the full board with little change.<br /><br />Those policies are likely to have an impact on businesses developing stem cell therapies and their affordability and accessibility not to mention researchers.</span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/california-stem-cell-agency-eyes">Read all about it in an item posted today on a new platform</a> for this blog, the <b>California Stem Cell Report (CSCR),</b> the only independent, news and information source devoted solely to the Golden State's 16-year-old research program, the first of its kind in state history. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This blog's migration to a new platform is aimed at improving service to readers and helping to bring a new focus to our coverage, which began in January 2005 and which has resulted in 5,000 items since then.</span></p></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-91310954530102650472021-01-19T11:54:00.004-08:002021-01-19T11:54:34.311-08:00California Stem Cell Board Faces its Future in Late January Meeting<p>Directors of the $12 billion California stem cell agency will meet on Jan. 28 to examine the new and sweeping scope of their changing enterprise, now remodeled in a major way by voters as a result of the last fall's election.</p><p>Affordability, mental health and "aging as a pathology" are all part of the new charter for the <b>California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM)</b>. Its governing board has scheduled a four-hour online session on the 28th that is open to public comment, questions and criticism. </p><p><a href="https://david293.substack.com/p/californias-stem-cell-agencys-future">Read about the meeting in an item posted this morning on a new platform for this blog</a>, the <b>California Stem Cell Report (CSCR),</b> the only independent information source devoted solely to the Golden State's 16-year-old research program, the first of its kind in state history. </p><p>The blog's migration to a new platform is aimed at improving service to readers and helping to bring a new focus to our coverage, which began in January 2005 and which has resulted in 5,000 items since then.</p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-78905379801109928692021-01-12T11:28:00.006-08:002021-01-13T06:43:45.715-08:00California's $12 Billion Stem Cell Agency and Fresh Ruckus over Conflicts of Interest<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The appointment of a new member to the governing board of California's $12 billion stem cell research program triggered additional comment and criticism today concerning conflicts of interest at the agency. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The matter involves <b>Larry Goldstein</b>, a well-known scientist at <b>UC San Diego</b>, who <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-progress/people/lawrence-goldstein" target="_blank">has received $22 million</a> from the <b>California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)</b>, the formal name for the stem cell agency. Goldstein's employer <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-progress/institutions/university-california-san-diego" target="_blank">has received $232 million.</a> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJYnZGuREBxEj58kjQgAkFM5eAsBcdOYJj4aJbt5HEraN2usAsftdAFFEgyf5gnIpNypjsbYdayc7fZwx87JSl8XYKJ2QqsVdR0uXNIg8nHO_tcLXxnXHa4CMEBJW706q147C46g/s791/marcy_darnovsky_cgs-975.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="515" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJYnZGuREBxEj58kjQgAkFM5eAsBcdOYJj4aJbt5HEraN2usAsftdAFFEgyf5gnIpNypjsbYdayc7fZwx87JSl8XYKJ2QqsVdR0uXNIg8nHO_tcLXxnXHa4CMEBJW706q147C46g/w130-h200/marcy_darnovsky_cgs-975.png" width="130" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Marcia Darnovsky<br />CGS photo</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">"<span style="background-color: white;">Conflicts of interest at CIRM have been a major concern since the agency was founded, as pointed out by observers including the <b>Institute of Medicine</b> (IOM) and the <b>Little Hoover Commission</b>, California's independent oversight organization," said <b>Marcy Darnovsky</b>, executive director of the <a href="https://www.geneticsandsociety.org/"><b>Center for Genetics and Society</b></a> in Berkeley, Ca., which has long opposed CIRM. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Proposition 14, which just last fall gave CIRM another $5.5 billion of public funding, should have been a chance for the agency to turn over a new leaf, but it made none of the changes that could have addressed the agency's built-in conflicts or other structural problems.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Now CIRM has accepted a board member who has personally received some $22 million in CIRM grants, and whose institution has received far more. It appears that CIRM will continue to flout basic principles of good governance, despite being a public agency wholly funded by public dollars. This is a real and ongoing problem."</span></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Last September, <b>Capitol Weekly</b>, California's respected government and political news service, carried an analysis of CIRM awards and their relationship to board members. <a href="https://capitolweekly.net/those-linked-to-stem-cell-board-received-more-than-2-1-billion/" target="_blank">It showed that 80 percent of the $2.7 billion awarded by CIRM has gone to institutions with links to past and present members of the CIRM board. </a></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The agency's 35 directors are barred from voting on specific awards to their institutions. However, they set the rules, scope and direction for the awards.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>UC Davis</b> stem cell scientist and blogger <b>Paul Knoepfler</b>, who supports the stem </span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9yBb4SImCkQQ1j-Wb2bgI0F8C92uetKR2HtPJO1OAzKtDmJjY6FDfsgcSeVhHCZlnUtVZMr-PcDurAUuyzt5V8IRsEA-mos6NtaQE4dUXewaXvDTbu7_23MvxRcXv8wSt0ls1Q/s183/knoepfler-bio.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9yBb4SImCkQQ1j-Wb2bgI0F8C92uetKR2HtPJO1OAzKtDmJjY6FDfsgcSeVhHCZlnUtVZMr-PcDurAUuyzt5V8IRsEA-mos6NtaQE4dUXewaXvDTbu7_23MvxRcXv8wSt0ls1Q/s0/knoepfler-bio.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Paul Knoepfler<br />UCD photo</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">cell agency, said in a comment this morning carried on <a href="https://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2021/01/recipient-of-22-million-from.html" target="_blank">the first item on this subject on the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b></a>, </span> </span><p></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I'm sure that Larry will do an excellent job on the board, and he brings a unique depth of knowledge on stem cell research. However, along the lines of what Aaron said as quoted in the piece, at the very least the appointment presents some challenges of perception of the agency."</span></blockquote><p><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Knoepfler's reference is to <b>Aaron Levine</b>, a <b>Georgia Tech</b> biomedical research policy expert who served on the IOM panel that conducted a $700,000 study of CIRM and recommended major changes in its governance and conflict of interest procedures. Levine told the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b>, </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Larry Goldstein is, in many ways, an inspired choice for the CIRM board. He is a well-regarded stem cell scientist and former CIRM grantee with administrative experience and demonstrated interest in public policy. On the other hand, CIRM has, at the very least, a perception problem with conflicts-of-interest and appointing a former grantee to the board so soon after the passage of Proposition 14 seems to suggest that this challenge will persist.”</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“More broadly, conflict of interest concerns reflect the structure of the CIRM Board dating back to <b>Proposition 71</b> in 2004 and the broader challenge facing many organizations of recruiting interested, qualified, and independent board members. CIRM has taken a number of steps to help address conflicts of interest since the IOM report was published many years ago, but I would have liked to see the board structure adjusted as part of <b>Proposition 14</b> to introduce more independence into the oversight structure and further address these concerns.”</span></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">CIRM was running out of money last year and was set to close its doors until voters approved Proposition 14, which provided $5.5 billion more and significantly expanded the scope of the agency. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">CIRM had an opportunity to deal with conflict of interest concerns during the formulation of the ballot measure in discussions with the sponsor of the measure, <b>Robert Klein</b>, a millionaire developer in Palo Alto. Klein also directed the writing of Proposition 71 in 2004 and served as CIRM's first chairman after writing into the initiative qualifications for the chair that applied uniquely to him.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>The <b>California Stem Cell Report</b> asked Klein this morning whether he had made </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">a recommendation to any party that Goldstein, </span><span style="background-color: white;">who is co-chair of a scientific advisory panel to Klein's stem cell advocacy group, be appointed to the CIRM board. </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Klein replied in an email this morning:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">"No. I learned of the appointment after the fact. Dr. Goldstein will be an outstanding board member. Given that he has closed his lab at UC San Diego and he is no longer conducting stem cell research, his extraordinary research record on neurodegenerative diseases and his experience in previously competing for CIRM grants will provide the board with important insights in advancing the search for therapies that are devastating to the brain, the body’s neurological system, and many other disease areas. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The State of California’s stem cell therapy development efforts and science generally will benefit greatly by Dr. Goldstein’s sacrifice of the remaining years he could have conducted scientific research, in favor of this new commitment to public service on the CIRM board, that will benefit patients everywhere."</span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"> </span></div></blockquote><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0o8UorTkaUXdcT0avp6U_y81wULYdYriKquJZQsf9pxXBbch6Jl6VQ0gdUWl0BQJ9dLsSW6I04_WKesdUDDq1849mi4jlSTMbnwSkF8sutcQRHlQD4z84sPu_phXPa2eu-RX8w/s2048/lawrence+goldstein+ucsd+photo.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1355" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0o8UorTkaUXdcT0avp6U_y81wULYdYriKquJZQsf9pxXBbch6Jl6VQ0gdUWl0BQJ9dLsSW6I04_WKesdUDDq1849mi4jlSTMbnwSkF8sutcQRHlQD4z84sPu_phXPa2eu-RX8w/s320/lawrence+goldstein+ucsd+photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Lawrence Goldstein in lab at Sanford<br />Consortium, UCSD photo</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Goldstein is barred by CIRM rules from applying for grants. The agency said yesterday that Goldstein has stepped away from his research with the exception of one project. </span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;">(Update: CIRM told the California Stem Cell Report on Monday that it was speaking for Goldstein in its comments. Goldstein confirmed that in an email and did not respond otherwise.) </span></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is technically possible today to make changes in the law dealing with conflicts at CIRM and the composition of its board. However, those would require a super, super-majority vote (70 percent) of both houses of the legislature and the signature of the governor, a politically difficult task. </span></span></p></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-20773031790901845192021-01-11T15:50:00.001-08:002021-01-11T15:56:23.950-08:00Recipient of $22 Million from California's Stem Cell Program Named to Its Board<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tyntHyWfYvA" width="320" youtube-src-id="tyntHyWfYvA"></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Larry Goldstein, UC San Diego video</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Larry Goldstein,</b> a well-known stem cell researcher at the <b>University of California, San Diego</b> who has received nearly<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/#"> $22 million in awards</a> from the California stem cell agency, today was named to its governing board.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was the first time in the history of the 16-year-old agency that a scientist who has received agency awards has been appointed to the board of the <b><a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/">California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)</a></b>, as the stem cell agency is officially known. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Goldstein's appointment raises once again questions involving conflicts of interest at the agency. Since its inception, CIRM has awarded $2.7 billion to California researchers and enterprises, including UC San Diego. Eight out of every ten dollars has gone to institutions with links to past or present CIRM board members, <a href="https://capitolweekly.net/those-linked-to-stem-cell-board-received-more-than-2-1-billion/">according to an analysis by the <b>California Stem Cell Report</b>. </a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Conflict of interest issues have dogged the agency since before voters created it in 2004. <a href="https://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2012/12/iom-recommends-sweeping-changes-at.html">In a report in 2012 commissioned at a cost of $700,000</a> by CIRM itself, the prestigious <b>Institute of Medicine (IOM)</b> said, </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">“Far too many board members represent organizations that receive CIRM funding or benefit from that funding. These competing personal and professional interests compromise the perceived independence of (the CIRM governing board), introduce potential bias into the board’s decision making, and threaten to undermine confidence in the board.” </span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-size: small;">The IOM said </span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-size: small;">the composition of the board, which is called the <b><a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/board-and-meetings/board">Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC)</a></b> makes it neither “independent” nor capable of “oversight.”</span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-size: small;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">In response to a question, <b>Kevin McCormack</b>, senior director of CIRM communications, said, </span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote>"Larry is no longer involved in any active CIRM awards and has stepped away from his research work, with the exception of one project for which he does not intend to seek CIRM funds. <br /><br />"He brings a wealth of knowledge to the board and a different perspective as a leading stem cell scientist and former CIRM-funded researcher. As for conflicts, he is precluded from voting on any applications and cannot even participate in the discussion of applications submitted by UCSD."</blockquote></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">While members of the CIRM board cannot vote on specific applications involving their institutions, they set the rules for the grant competition and approve "concept plans" for new grant rounds. Those rounds can and do benefit board members' institutions. UC San Diego <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-progress/funded-institutions">has received $232 million</a> in total funding from the agency, making the campus the third-largest recipient. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">CIRM provided $43 million to help create the <b><a href="https://www.sanfordconsortium.com/">Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine</a></b> in La Jolla, which involved UC San Diego and other research institutions, all of which have been represented on the CIRM board. Goldstein was the founding scientific director of the consortium. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Goldstein, as a member of the CIRM board, is barred from applying for additional funding, CIRM said in response to a question. <br /></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSyBSGySETJKc5VUyyWJMupY8Y_nUcyaXPi6GZnqLNNC8ZDxpfTdZYVmbbOPDzpoEuq74fVtdUgFulIvcyU1xkcha-2Bp_W9IjTXtN-u8HOvMxrQwLjerQtn4Ndfpuotp-rN4tQ/s407/levine+aaron+georgia+tech+photo.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="270" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSyBSGySETJKc5VUyyWJMupY8Y_nUcyaXPi6GZnqLNNC8ZDxpfTdZYVmbbOPDzpoEuq74fVtdUgFulIvcyU1xkcha-2Bp_W9IjTXtN-u8HOvMxrQwLjerQtn4Ndfpuotp-rN4tQ/w133-h200/levine+aaron+georgia+tech+photo.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Aaron Levine<br />Georgia Tech photo</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">Queried by email, <b>Aaron Levine</b>, a member of the IOM panel that studied the stem cell agency and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">an</span><a href="https://iac.gatech.edu/people/experts/Aaron-Levine" style="font-family: verdana;"> expert in biomedical research policy</a> <span style="font-family: verdana;">at </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Georgia Tech</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">said, </span><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Larry Goldstein is, in many ways, an inspired choice for the CIRM Board. He is a well-regarded stem cell scientist and former CIRM grantee with administrative experience and demonstrated interest in public policy. On the other hand, CIRM has, at the very least, a perception problem with conflicts-of-interest and appointing a former grantee to the Board so soon after the passage of Proposition 14 seems to suggest that this challenge will persist.”</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“More broadly, conflict of interest concerns reflect the structure of the CIRM Board dating back to <b>Proposition 71</b> in 2004 and the broader challenge facing many organizations of recruiting interested, qualified, and independent board members. CIRM has taken a number of steps to help address conflicts of interest since the IOM report was published many years ago, but I would have liked to see the board structure adjusted as part of <b>Proposition 14</b> to introduce more independence into the oversight structure and further address these concerns.”</span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Proposition 71 is the ballot initiative that created CIRM in 2004 with $3 billion in state bonds. When the money ran out last year, voters approved Proposition 14, which saved the agency with $5.5 billion more. The total cost of the agency by the time the money runs out again is estimated to be $12 billion because of the interest expense of the bonds. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Proposition 14 also expanded the board from 29 to 35 members, creating an increased likelihood of conflicts of interest. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPbhXRYIvkOV8BZiV6fHbW-SZrsCXA_CRDRHb4vMgOl2LM0zGp6idc6OD8_RhZWL5O-2QLChzbkLn3gaZoOTLcN0DNpFgiFtYvTNbPgS2yoY-mJ9BdoIW98MCRj32s6R0RR_LAw/s2048/Klein+2020+bond+image+initiative.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1517" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPbhXRYIvkOV8BZiV6fHbW-SZrsCXA_CRDRHb4vMgOl2LM0zGp6idc6OD8_RhZWL5O-2QLChzbkLn3gaZoOTLcN0DNpFgiFtYvTNbPgS2yoY-mJ9BdoIW98MCRj32s6R0RR_LAw/s320/Klein+2020+bond+image+initiative.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Bob Klein<br />California Stem Cell Report photo</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">A longtime observer of the agency and supporter of stem cell research, who must remain anonymous, was "quite <br />distressed" by the Goldstein appointment. "Don't they have any sense of what's appropriate," the person said. "He has benefitted in so many ways and is so intertwined with <b>Bob Klein</b>." </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Klein is the Palo Alto developer who crafted Proposition 14 and 71 and contributed millions to the ballot campaigns. Goldstein serves as <a href="https://americansforcures.org/scientific-advisory-board/">co-chair of the scientific advisory board</a> of Klein's stem cell advocacy group, <b>Americans for Cures</b>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/newsroom/press-releases/01112021/uc-san-diego-scientist-larry-goldstein-joins-stem-cell">In its news release</a>, CIRM Chairman <b>Jonathan Thomas</b> said, </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">“I have known Larry for many years and have nothing but the highest regard for him as a scientist, a leader, and a great champion of stem cell research. He is also an innovative thinker and that will be invaluable to us as we move into a second chapter in the life of CIRM.”</span></blockquote></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Reports filed by Goldstein on his research <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-progress/people/lawrence-goldstein">can be found on this CIRM web page</a> and by clicking on the description of each award. He was appointed by UC San Diego Chancellor <b>Pradeep Khosla</b> and replaces <b>David Brenner</b>, dean of the UC San Diego Medical School, who has served two terms on the CIRM board. . </span></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-84527837984433232232021-01-08T14:24:00.006-08:002021-01-08T14:54:51.712-08:00Hundreds of California Scientists Eyeing $182 Million from Golden State Taxpayers<p>Hundreds of California stem cell researchers this week took part in an online exploration of the new, $182 million research plans of the state's newly refinanced efforts to develop therapies for afflictions ranging from cancer to incontinence. </p><div>Their questions ranged from the quite technical to how to comment during the formulation of a new strategic plan for the <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/"><b>California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)</b></a>, the official name of the stem cell agency. </div><div><br /></div><div>CIRM is in the process of figuring out how to spend a total of $5.5 billion approved by voters last fall. The cash will fuel research for about another 11 years. At that point, CIRM funding will terminate unless another source of financing is developed. </div><div><br /></div><div>The agency was created in 2004 by voters who allotted it $3 billion in borrowed money. By the time the money runs out, CIRM will have cost taxpayers an estimated $12 billion, which includes interest on the state bonds. </div><div><br /></div><div>This week's webinar dealt with the agency's plans to award $182 million -- the first bite into the new $5.5 billion -- over the next six months for basic, translational and clinical research. On Thursday, <b>Gil Sambrano</b>, vice president of portfolio development review, laid out the plans that were approved last month by the CIRM governing board. He answered a number of questions during the session, which was viewed by more than 350 participants. Since then, the recording of the session has attracted an additional, 50-plus viewers. <a href="https://youtu.be/-tQxJx2b940?t=295" target="_blank">(To see the session, click on t</a>his sentence.) </div><div><br /></div><div>CIRM began making awards in September of 2005, and it has delivered cash to <a href="https://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2020/12/save-goose-californias-stem-cell-story.html">more than 900 recipients</a>. Many have received more than one award. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/researchers/funding-opportunities/clinical-trial-stage-projects">deadline for clinical applications in the latest round </a>of funding is the last business day of this month. The <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/partnering-opportunity-translational-research-projects">deadline for translational applications </a>is 2 p.m. PST Feb. 18. The <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/partnering-opportunity-discovery-stage-research-projects">deadline for the basic research "Quest" round</a> is 2 p.m. PST <span face="Raleway, sans-serif"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">March 18.<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span></span></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-37593402080322595012021-01-04T08:18:00.005-08:002021-01-09T08:57:47.630-08:00Looking for Some Research Cash? $182 Million on Table in California; Briefing Thursday on How to Get It <p><span style="font-family: verdana;">California's $12 billion stem cell program is entering a new phase that will affect patients and researchers alike, and it is planning a show-and-tell this Thursday for the curious.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"With the voter approval of <b>Proposition 14</b> <b>CIRM</b> is about to start <a href="http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2020/12/californias-quest-for-stem-cell.html">a new chapter in its life.</a> Because we are always trying to improve the way we operate, always trying to be better, there are going to be changes in the way we do things. Some of those changes are in the way we fund research, and the kinds of projects we are going to fund," the agency said in an announcement last week. </span></span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKEC2SBu-KxbdYI5B4ja2EPqdPNqTrP2aekfHXQRp1oc0JeKPYaG654AXjgTPHce9EBwACR8zEfOmYsH1qKpD0Fd6FcdQxfx6NW8ne4cYfq8-mK48jh7FN4I5L8KzdZ44Gge13A/s693/Sambrano+foto+cirm+credit.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="693" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKEC2SBu-KxbdYI5B4ja2EPqdPNqTrP2aekfHXQRp1oc0JeKPYaG654AXjgTPHce9EBwACR8zEfOmYsH1qKpD0Fd6FcdQxfx6NW8ne4cYfq8-mK48jh7FN4I5L8KzdZ44Gge13A/w200-h173/Sambrano+foto+cirm+credit.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gil Sambrano, CIRM photo</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">Addressing many of those matters will be <b>Gil Sambrano</b>, </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">the stem cell agency's <br />vice president of portfolio and review. Sambrano has been at CIRM (the <b><a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/">California Institute for Regenerative Medicine)</a></b> for years. He is in charge of the application review process, among other things. </span></span><a href="https://youtu.be/-tQxJx2b940" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">(Update: Here is a link to a video of the presentation.)</a><div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The CIRM session is aimed primarily at researchers and is expected to deal with some changes dealing with making CIRM-funded data more open along with the new diversity requirements in applications dealing with both potential patient populations and lab/research staffing. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">CIRM plans to award $182 million in the next six months. Based on discussions and action last month by the CIRM board, it would behoove applicants to be well-informed about the details of the new requirements and how they will affect the scoring of grant applications. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here are links to the specifics on the changes: <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/201221%20Agenda%20Item%20%23%208%20DISC%20Concept%20Plan%20-%20Proposal2%20Dec%202020.pdf">discovery/basic research</a>, <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/201221%20Agenda%20Item%20%23%208%20TRAN%20Concept%20Plan%20-%20Proposal2%20Dec2020.pdf">translational</a> and <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/201221%20Agenda%20Item%20%23%208%20CLIN%20Concept%20Plan%20-%20Proposal2%20Dec2020.pdf">clinical</a>.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">Here are CIRM instructions for joining the webinar that begins at noon PST on Thursday. The Zoom address is </span><span style="color: #39394d; text-align: center; word-break: break-word;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://cirm.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D8b059af5fb3ca7302c782dde9%26id%3D5387b6eb8f%26e%3De713cfb982&source=gmail&ust=1609861288933000&usg=AFQjCNHUIdhQsG1JfoZGmqV4EI3VSSUPRg" href="https://cirm.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8b059af5fb3ca7302c782dde9&id=5387b6eb8f&e=e713cfb982" style="color: black; text-align: center; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">https://cirm-ca.zoom.us/s/<wbr></wbr>92287515387</a>. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #39394d; font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: center; word-break: break-word;">Other methods: </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">Phone one-tap, </span><span style="text-align: center;">US: </span><a href="tel:+16699006833,,92287515387" style="text-align: center; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">+16699006833,,92287515387</a><span style="text-align: center;"># or </span><a href="tel:+13462487799,,92287515387" style="text-align: center; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">+13462487799,,92287515387</a><span style="text-align: center;">#, or join by telephone<b> (f</b></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">or higher quality, dial a number based on your current location) </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">US : +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099; </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">Webinar ID </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">922 8751 5387, p</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">asscode </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">210107.</span></span></p></div>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-19270391676248866352020-12-24T10:25:00.000-08:002020-12-24T10:25:30.526-08:00Going Dark for the Holidays<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> The <b>California Stem Cell Report</b> will be dark for the holidays until about Jan. 4. If you have last-minute gifts to give, don't forget <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Californias-Great-Stem-Cell-Experiment-ebook/dp/B085DD6FXL">"California's Great Stem Cell Experiment,"</a> a great gift for anybody above age 13 and some below that the age, even many of our dear readers. 😉</span></p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000891.post-3980865805976271792020-12-21T14:37:00.002-08:002020-12-30T08:41:01.975-08:00California's Quest for Stem Cell Therapies: $5.5 Billion Reboot Kicked Off Today<p>California's ambitious stem cell agency today launched itself on a new, $5.5 billion journey, approving a plan to hand out $182 million to researchers by the middle of next year and beefing up its efforts to bring equality to therapies and scientific labs.</p><p>The moves came courtesy of <b>Proposition 14</b>, the ballot initiative that saved the financial life of the <b><a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/">California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)</a></b>, as the agency is officially known. Just 12 months ago, CIRM was dealing with its possible demise as it was running out of the $3 billion that voters gave it in 2004. </p><p>Proposition 14 sets the agency, which currently has only 33 employees, on <a href="http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-55-billion-stem-cell-proposition.html">a sweeping course that extends its work into areas such as mental health and "aging as a pathology."</a> The agency's new, 17,000-word charter also provides up to $155 million for work dealing with affordability and access to possible stem cell therapies. </p><p>CIRM was created 16 years ago by another ballot initiative following a campaign that raised voter expectations that stem cell therapies were right around the corner. The agency has yet to help finance a stem cell therapy that is approved for widespread use by the federal government, although <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-impact/funding-clinical-trials">CIRM is backing 68 clinical trials, a number that was considered unimaginable in 2004, the year the agency was born. </a></p><p>During its online meeting today, the agency's governing board approved, as expected, <a href="https://www.cirm.ca.gov/sites/default/files/files/agenda/201221%20Agenda%20Item%20%23%207%20Research%20Budget%20ICOC%2020201202.pdf">a $182 million plan</a> to make 36 awards during the next six months. It calls for $100 million for clinical work, $22 million for basic research and $60 million for translational research, which involves attempts to move discoveries into the clinical stage, the last stop before they are approved for general distribution. </p><p>A call for applications is expected to be posted soon. </p><p>The board <a href="http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2020/12/californias-new-task-155-million-drive.html">took its first step to address the affordability and access issues</a> identified by Proposition 14. Eight persons were named to CIRM's new Affordability and Access committee. It will be led by CIRM's vice chair, <b>Art Torres,</b> a former state legislator and who also serves on the board of <b><a href="https://www.coveredca.com/">Covered California</a></b>, a state body designed to deal with affordability issues in connection with the federal Affordable Care Act. More persons are expected to be named to the affordability committee next month. </p><p>The CIRM board approved <a href="http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2020/12/needs-of-underserved-california.html">changes in how it evaluates applications</a> for awards to require scientists to specifically address diversity and equity issues. Under its new rules, applications will be scored on how well the research deals with underserved communities. Applicants will also be scored on the diversity of their research teams. </p><p>The agency's new operational budget calls for the <a href="http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2020/12/need-work-californias-stem-cell-agency.html">hiring of 10 more employees between now and the end of June</a>, ranging from a vice president for science to an administrative assistant. Job listings are expected to be posted soon. </p><p>CIRM Chairman <b>Jonathan Thomas</b> <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vSciI9HonuBgPsn7QZcEboLqoc6hbyGQhDf4kbUot5ASKUzL3K4PAKbACbb5vs7GvQVxHGKDbprd5P5/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=10000">laid out some details for crafting a new strategic plan</a> for the next five years. It includes action on the plan by the end of June, which will mean that requests for applications will be issued soon thereafter. The June date has been moved up from later in the summer.</p><p>The public and researchers will be able to weigh in with comments and suggestions during the development of the plan. </p><p>Today's session stood in sharp contrast to the agency's first meeting this month in 2004, just after the voter approval of the ballot measure that created CIRM. The fledgling agency did not have a single employee. It had no bank account, no offices and no phones. Spectators, interested parties and news reporters, nonetheless, crowded into the CIRM board's first meeting. Major stories appeared in the media throughout the state. </p><p>Today, CIRM's online session was watched by only about 30 to 40 persons, most of whom were likely associated with the agency itself. And the meeting drew virtually no media attention.</p>David Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077329461962729362noreply@blogger.com0