News blog

Stem cells in America

It’s a bumper week for stem cell news in America. Here’s a round up.

California’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine has assigned $50 million of its $3 billion in stem cell research money for early clinical development of potential therapies. CIRM says its new ‘Targeted Clinical Development Awards’ will fund studies deemed too risky by pharma companies or venture capitalists (press release).

It’s not all sunny in California stem cell circles though. The institute’s board also voted to express its concerns about legislation proposed by state senator Elaine Alquist to increase oversight of CIRM. It says says her proposal could impact the state’s tax revenues and jobs from stem cell technology and also jeopardise finding “treatments and cures for diseases and traumas that Californians struggle with everyday” (letter pdf).

Alquist says her bill will increase the transparency of CIRM.

Another piece of proposed stem cell legislation is worrying researchers in another state. A provision requiring universities to report to the state how many human stem cells lines they create, receive or use has been added to a bill on university funding making its way through the Michigan legislature.

Opponents say it is a “very sneaky backdoor way” of attempting to hinder research on stem cells (Detroit Free Press).

Back in California, the $62 million UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures opened on Wednesday in Sacramento. It is the first of a number of large, CIRM backed labs to open.

In other CIRM-related news, our colleagues on Nature Medicine cast a beady eye over the strange case of Evan Snyder:

Here’s one creative, albeit seemingly accidental way, to get a 50% boost for your multi-million dollar research grant: Flout the rules, say you’re sorry, and then argue that you can only make up for it with extra cash.

If that’s not enough stem cells for you, they’ve also got an interview with Michael Castle, one of the politicians pushing legislation to codify into law President Obama’s executive order allowing federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Comments

Comments are closed.