StemCell Therapy

The $3 billion California stem cell agency, which is expected to run out of cash in five years, is backing away from an attempt to win voter approval of another multibillion dollar bond measure to finance its research efforts.

The agency disclosed its new position in a document posted in connection with the meeting tomorrow of its governing board in San Diego. CIRM said,

"Although additional funding could be a possibility in the future, it would be premature even to consider another bond measure at this time. Instead, CIRM should focus its efforts on creating a platform that enables others to carry on CIRM’s work."

The statement is a sharp departure from previous discussion of mounting a ballot campaign for a $4 billion to $5 billion bond measure on behalf of CIRM.

The only significant source of cash for the agency currently is the $3 billion in bonds approved by voters in 2004. Nearly half of that is committed. The latest financial report from CIRM shows its funding of research peaking in 2017-18.

During the last year or so, former CIRM Chairman Robert Klein has repeatedly discussed another bond measure and has even more recently expressed his desire to raise funds for a new electoral campaign. Klein resigned from his post last June. The CIRM board elected Jonathan Thomas, a Los Angeles bond financier, to replace Klein, who was the agency's first chairman and who led the 2004 ballot campaign.

In 2010, the CIRM board approved spending $700,000 for an Institute of Medicine study of CIRM with the expectation that its findings would enhance the likelihood of approval of more bond funding.

The IOM study is currently underway. The blue-ribbon panel is scheduled to hold a two-day public meeting in San Francisco Jan. 24-25 as part of its assessment of CIRM performance.

CIRM largely functions below the news media's radar, but talk of a new pitch for money has triggered negative commentary. Last month, the San Jose Mercury News said in an editorial that the agency should close its doors when its cash runs out because another bond measure would siphon off much-needed money for education and other critical services already "starved" by state budget cuts.

Backing away from another bond measure could benefit CIRM by helping to remove the likelihood that its actions will be judged in the context of an electoral campaign. But the action also raises the possibility that some of CIRM's best employees may leave for better prospects given that they may not have much of a future at an agency that would appear to be going out of business – at least at its current robust level.

The CIRM document dealing with the bond measure is dubbed a "transition plan" and is required by state law.

Instead of seeking to borrow more billions, the document said,

"CIRM should focus its efforts on creating a platform that enables others to carry on CIRM’s work. Through its funding of state of the art research facilities, collaborative funding agreements, and industry engagement, CIRM has already made progress in creating this platform."

The document also raised the possibility of creation of a nonprofit organization to carry on CIRM's stem cell research, a proposal that has floated quietly for some years. Such an effort could involve raising funds from the biotech industry, which CIRM is currently trying to engage in a more friendly way.

At the top of CIRM's list of transition plan activities is creation -- both nationally and internationally -- of "Alpha Stem Cell Clinics" for delivery of therapies to patients. The clinics also would foster clinical trials and evaluate cell therapies. Additionally included are efforts to drive "follow-on funding" for CIRM projects and strengthened efforts to support industry.

Directors could alter the CIRM transition plan at their meeting tomorrow. But it was placed on the agenda by Chairman Thomas and is unlikely to see major revisions.

Source:
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09-01-2012 19:00 Stem cell therapy patient, Shelley Sims, discusses her improvements following stem cell treatments at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama. Shelley has reduced her medications from thirteen to two. She reports significantly decreased fatigue that has enabled her to start playing racquetball with her son as well as coach his basketball team - things she could never do before treatment.

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Stem Cell Therapy - Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Patient Interview - Video

The California stem cell agency is proposing a $40 million program to set up two stem cell genomic research centers, including possibly one at a for-profit research enterprise.

The plan would augment an existing program in genomics or bioinformatics, according to a CIRM document. The goal is to rapidly build "an effective stem cell genomics infrastructure that will provide a new platform for the application of genomics tools to stem cell biology and regenerative medicine."

The proposal is scheduled to be considered at a meeting of the CIRM directors Science Subcommittee next Wednesday. It will then go to the full CIRM board at its Jan. 17 meeting.

The stem cell agency's proposal said,

"Genomics technologies and the data sets they yield are fast becoming the currency of biology and medicine. The cost of genome sequencing is dropping exponentially, a trend that will soon make genome-scale characterization a practical tool for fundamental studies of stem cell biology and for advancing therapeutic applications. Meanwhile, cell therapeutics are advancing toward clinical trials, and hES and hiPS cells have become the gold standard for studying human cell biology, tissue and organ development and repair, and disease. Combining genomic technologies with stem cell research will accelerate fundamental understanding of human biology, disease mechanisms, tissue engineering and cell therapies...."

The RFA for the proposal would be released in May with board approval of applications in the winter of 2013.

Interested parties can participate in the meeting at locations in San Francisco, Irvine, Oakland, Pleasanton, Duarte, Los Angeles (2), Stanford, Healdsburg and Irvine. Addresses can be found on the agenda for the meeting.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The California Stem Cell Report will be mostly dark during the next two weeks since its editor, yours truly, will be out of Internet range sailing in the Perlas islands south of Panama.

However, we want to let you know that a meeting of the governing board of the California stem cell agency is scheduled for Jan. 17 in San Diego. Also, the Institute of Medicine later this month will hold one of its two public sessions in California to assess the performance of the $3 billion stem cell research effort. The agenda for the Jan. 24-25 meeting in San Francisco had not been posted at the time of this writing. But the IOM said it will be available at least 10 days ahead of the meeting.

The IOM also has not yet filled the spot on the CIRM study panel vacated by David Scadden of Harvard when he resigned last month because of a conflict of interest involving Fate Therapeutics of San Diego.

If you are eager to delve into the details of what the CIRM governing board is up to, you can find the agenda and perhaps additional background information at this location on the CIRM web site when it is posted, probably by Jan. 7. While the meeting is scheduled for San Diego, usually one or two remote locations around the state are available where interested parties can participate. The California Stem Cell Report does plan to cover the meeting live via the Internet audiocast and file reports as warranted.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The $3 billion California stem cell agency has handed out 454 grants since its inception in 2004 but what does it all mean?

Stem cell researcher Paul Knoepfler took a crack at an unusual analysis a couple of days ago, generating a word cloud from the titles of all the CIRM grants.

Writing on his blog, the UC Davis scientist and CIRM grant recipient said he was surprised by some of the results, including how small the word "induced" was in the cloud considering the hooha over induced pluripotent cells. Knoepfler also wrote,

"I found it fascinating that the next top word was 'differentiation.' As much as we all focus on stem cells in their native state, clearly the differentiation of stem cells is critically important."

Knoepfler used a free, word-cloud forming utility(Wordle) to generate the results, which Amy Adams, CIRM's communications manager, called "cool."

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The California stem cell agency plans to hand out $370 million this year, including a whopping $240 million in what it calls its disease team round.

That amounts to $42,237 every hour of every day of 2012.

Amy Adams, CIRM's communications manager, reported the $370 million figure in the CIRM research blog, which she edits. The other rounds of funding for 2012, Adams wrote, include $95 million for early translational research, $35 million for basic biology and $2.2 million for stem cell research by high school students. Those funds would be routed through universities.

So far CIRM has handed out $1.2 billion to 454 recipients in the seven years it has been in business. It is expected to run out of its $3 billion in about 2017 unless it secures voter approval of more bond funding or some other source of revenue.

Adams' item on the funding expected to be approved this year is part of CIRM's efforts to make its research blog more lively and newsy. Indeed, unless we are mistaken, it is the first time in the history of the agency that it has laid out its funding plans for a forthcoming year in a single public document.

In her item, Adams also pointed to various locations on the CIRM web site where interested parties can track the agency's affairs.

The changes in the blog are a step in the right direction, laying out not only more information but also racheting up the interest level.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The California stem cell agency is proposing a $40 million program to set up two stem cell genomic research centers, including possibly one at a for-profit research enterprise.

The plan would augment an existing program in genomics or bioinformatics, according to a CIRM document. The goal is to rapidly build "an effective stem cell genomics infrastructure that will provide a new platform for the application of genomics tools to stem cell biology and regenerative medicine."

The proposal is scheduled to be considered at a meeting of the CIRM directors Science Subcommittee next Wednesday. It will then go to the full CIRM board at its Jan. 17 meeting.

The stem cell agency's proposal said,

"Genomics technologies and the data sets they yield are fast becoming the currency of biology and medicine. The cost of genome sequencing is dropping exponentially, a trend that will soon make genome-scale characterization a practical tool for fundamental studies of stem cell biology and for advancing therapeutic applications. Meanwhile, cell therapeutics are advancing toward clinical trials, and hES and hiPS cells have become the gold standard for studying human cell biology, tissue and organ development and repair, and disease. Combining genomic technologies with stem cell research will accelerate fundamental understanding of human biology, disease mechanisms, tissue engineering and cell therapies...."

The RFA for the proposal would be released in May with board approval of applications in the winter of 2013.

Interested parties can participate in the meeting at locations in San Francisco, Irvine, Oakland, Pleasanton, Duarte, Los Angeles (2), Stanford, Healdsburg and Irvine. Addresses can be found on the agenda for the meeting.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The California Stem Cell Report will be mostly dark during the next two weeks since its editor, yours truly, will be out of Internet range sailing in the Perlas islands south of Panama.

However, we want to let you know that a meeting of the governing board of the California stem cell agency is scheduled for Jan. 17 in San Diego. Also, the Institute of Medicine later this month will hold one of its two public sessions in California to assess the performance of the $3 billion stem cell research effort. The agenda for the Jan. 24-25 meeting in San Francisco had not been posted at the time of this writing. But the IOM said it will be available at least 10 days ahead of the meeting.

The IOM also has not yet filled the spot on the CIRM study panel vacated by David Scadden of Harvard when he resigned last month because of a conflict of interest involving Fate Therapeutics of San Diego.

If you are eager to delve into the details of what the CIRM governing board is up to, you can find the agenda and perhaps additional background information at this location on the CIRM web site when it is posted, probably by Jan. 7. While the meeting is scheduled for San Diego, usually one or two remote locations around the state are available where interested parties can participate. The California Stem Cell Report does plan to cover the meeting live via the Internet audiocast and file reports as warranted.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The $3 billion California stem cell agency has handed out 454 grants since its inception in 2004 but what does it all mean?

Stem cell researcher Paul Knoepfler took a crack at an unusual analysis a couple of days ago, generating a word cloud from the titles of all the CIRM grants.

Writing on his blog, the UC Davis scientist and CIRM grant recipient said he was surprised by some of the results, including how small the word "induced" was in the cloud considering the hooha over induced pluripotent cells. Knoepfler also wrote,

"I found it fascinating that the next top word was 'differentiation.' As much as we all focus on stem cells in their native state, clearly the differentiation of stem cells is critically important."

Knoepfler used a free, word-cloud forming utility(Wordle) to generate the results, which Amy Adams, CIRM's communications manager, called "cool."

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The California stem cell agency plans to hand out $370 million this year, including a whopping $240 million in what it calls its disease team round.

That amounts to $42,237 every hour of every day of 2012.

Amy Adams, CIRM's communications manager, reported the $370 million figure in the CIRM research blog, which she edits. The other rounds of funding for 2012, Adams wrote, include $95 million for early translational research, $35 million for basic biology and $2.2 million for stem cell research by high school students. Those funds would be routed through universities.

So far CIRM has handed out $1.2 billion to 454 recipients in the seven years it has been in business. It is expected to run out of its $3 billion in about 2017 unless it secures voter approval of more bond funding or some other source of revenue.

Adams' item on the funding expected to be approved this year is part of CIRM's efforts to make its research blog more lively and newsy. Indeed, unless we are mistaken, it is the first time in the history of the agency that it has laid out its funding plans for a forthcoming year in a single public document.

In her item, Adams also pointed to various locations on the CIRM web site where interested parties can track the agency's affairs.

The changes in the blog are a step in the right direction, laying out not only more information but also racheting up the interest level.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

30-12-2011 14:47 Best friend breakthrough: Stem-cell therapy Candice Williams / The Detroit News Michigan's 1st In-Clinic Pet Stem Cell Therapist, John SimonRoyal Oak— Reuben, a 9-year-old English springer spaniel, entered the Woodside Animal Clinic on Wednesday suffering from hip dysplasia and arthritis that limited his mobility. A few hours later, the dog walked out on his own, ready to recuperate at home, thanks to a cutting-edge treatment that involves harvesting and reinjecting the dog's own stem cells. Dr

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Reuben Before and after Stem Cell Therapy - Video

07-11-2011 15:39 http://www.StemCellTreatment.org Salima had stem cell treatment for Fibromyalgia and had very good results. We have had great success with stem cell therapy for Fibromyalgia also known as FMS

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Stem Cell Treatment Fibromyalgia - Video

17-10-2011 14:15 This video, is a testimonial of a patient from Colorado, USA that went to Progencell, for a Stem cell treatment for her neurologic problem affecting her eyesight and hearing loss. Talks about her experience, her trip, the procedure, the outcome and some suggestions.

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Eyesight and Hearing loss - Stem Cell therapy (English) - Video

02-01-2012 12:26 See inside our state-of-the-art adult stem cell facilities in Panama City, Panama. Our laboratory, Medistem Panama, Inc., operates an 8000 sq

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Stem Cell Therapy - Medistem Labs Panama Laboratory Tour - Video

27-12-2011 18:12 This video is about prostate cancer cells and how they work. It also looks at how stem cell therapy may help cure it.

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Prostate Cells - Prostate Cancer Stem Cell Treatment - Video

16-12-2011 14:38 Learn about adult stem cells and how they can help you in the areas of orthopedic and degenerative disease, sports injuries, pain in the knees, shoulders, elbows, and back or spinal injuries. Dr. Damon Noto talks about stem cell treatment on Channel 12 Health program

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Stem Cell Therapy News Channel 12 Health - Dr Damon Noto.flv - Video

17-11-2011 05:23 Dr Nandini talking about Stem Cell Therapy for Brain and Spine Disorders on DD Sahyadri. Stem cell therapy done at neurogen brain and spine institute pvt ltd. http://www.neurogen.in Tell: +91 9920 200 400 , 022 25281610 , 022 25283706

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Stem Cell Therapy for Brain and Spine Disorders, Mumbai - Video

28-10-2011 17:23 Dr Tristan McKay of the William Harvey Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London presents the current status of stem cell therapies for human disease. He highlights the opportunities and controversies in the field, and sets out the challenges ahead

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BSGT-ESGCT What is Stem Cell Therapy? - Video

Advanced Cell Technology, which has unsuccessfully sought funding several times from the $3 billion California stem cell agency, drew some attention today in a piece in a Massachusetts newspaper.

The Worcester Telegram took a look at the firm, headquartered in Santa Monica, Ca., with labs in Marlboro, Mass., in the wake of Geron's departure from hESC research. The move left ACT as the only firm in the country with an hESC trial and perhaps with a better shot at CIRM funding.

Reporter Lisa Eckelbecker wrote,

"Advanced Cell, publicly traded since 2005, has spent years developing its technologies. The company brings in little revenue and has an accumulated deficit of $180.9 million. About 1.6 billion shares of Advanced Cell common stock is outstanding, a result of numerous financings over the years. It trades for about 10 cents a share on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board, an electronic exchange for small companies. No analysts from major Wall Street banks report on the company.

"The company's treatment for Stargardt's macular dystrophy and dry age-related macular degeneration — the treatment that required (a) mountain of paperwork before the FDA — first went into the eyes of patients in July in Los Angeles. The retinal pigment epithelial cells, generated from embryonic stem cells, were developed to slow the progression of the eye disorders, which can lead to blindness."

ACT moved its headquarters to California following the passage of Prop. 71 in 2004, the ballot initiative that created the California stem cell agency. The company said at the time it expected to "gain significant momentum by being able to take advantage of a favorable environment for funding."

ACT initially landed in Alameda, Ca., but has since moved to Southern California. Its official opening in 2006 in Alameda was attended by the state treasurer and at least one CIRM official, according to the company. The firm has never secured funding from the stem cell agency, which does not release the names of rejected applicants. However, the California Stem Cell Report carried an item in 2008 that pointed out that a researcher for ACT complained publicly about a reviewer's conflict of interest in connection with an ACT application(see here and here). At the time, Robert Klein, then CIRM chairman, brushed off the complaint. The journal Nature has also reported that ACT has applied unsuccessfully several times for CIRM awards.

It is a fair bet that ACT was an initial applicant in the round that provided funding to Geron last spring. However, by the time Geron's application went to the full CIRM board, the other applicants had withdrawn – the first time such an event had occurred at CIRM.

Since Geron pulled out of the hESC business last month, it is likely that ACT and CIRM have opened fresh discussions, given their mutual interest in producing a stem cell therapy. CIRM also has a new chairman who is familiar with ACT. After Geron was awarded its $25 million loan from CIRM last May, the agency's board elected as chairman a Los Angeles bond financier, Jonathan Thomas, who led an early round of financing for ACT in 2000. Thomas last summer sold his remaining 17,046 shares in ACT for $3,239. Thomas said he had a "significant loss" on the sale but did not disclose the amount.

Geron's flight from hESC and ACT's perserverance come as the stem cell agency is pushing aggressively to drive research into the clinic. Plus CIRM needs tangible results that voters can understand if CIRM is win ballot-box approval for continued funding in the next few years. The agency will run out of cash in about 2017 and is considering mounting a campaign for another multibillion bond issue.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The $3 billion California stem cell agency should shut its doors when its cash runs out in about six years and turn over development of stem cell therapies to industry and academe, the San Jose Mercury News said in an editorial on Saturday.

The piece in the leading newspaper in California's Silicon Valley was headlined, "Stem Cell Institute Should Take a Bow (Out)."

The newspaper wrote,

"This state is in financial crisis with no full recovery in sight. Bankrolling the next phase of research would come at the expense of other critical state services, including public education, that are state government's core mission and already are starved by budget cuts. It would be a mistake to pile more debt onto the state's already heavy bond obligations, which are paid off from the same general fund that pays for schools and other services. Medical research is important, but it is not at the heart of state government's mission. Bond measures now need to deal with water supplies and other looming crises."

The editorial said CIRM has provided a "strong foundation from which universities and companies can move toward cures."

But the newspaper concluded,

"Cures remain elusive -- there is never a guarantee with scientific research -- but the 10-year start voters approved was meant to be just that. The promise of stem cell treatments now must be kept alive with funding from industry, academic institutions and private foundations and philanthropists."

The editorial comes as the seven-year-old agency is driving to turn research into therapies that can actually be used in treatments. At the same time, CIRM is considering asking California voters to approve another multibillion bond measure in the next few years, a proposal that seems to be fresh news to many in the media.

The San Jose newspaper covered the stem cell agency with some detail in its first year of operation. In the last few years, however, the paper's coverage has been all but non-existent, like most of the news media in California.

Earlier this month, the paper published an overview of the agency, which highlighted the discussions by former CIRM Chairman Bob Klein about another bond issue, along with the fact that the cures promised by the campaign of 2004 have not materialized. The proposed bond issue is old news for most persons who have followed CIRM; the plan has been around publicly for more than a year. But the call for more cash comes a surprise to many of in the media. And to the public. So it is likely to pop up again as other news outlets re-visit the agency from time to time.

The presence of another electoral campaign also imposes a different sort of burden on CIRM – something quite removed from such matters as the basic biology of stem cells. It means that the stem cell agency's endeavors are being evaluated in a political context, which involves such questions as whether its actions are designed to generate the millions in campaign contributions necessary to win a statewide election or whether it is neglecting valuable research for something that will instead generate a high profile result for the benefit of the campaign but not add much to the science.

It is all part of tactics and strategy involved in the "communications war" that CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas discussed with CIRM board members last June in his bid to win election to his post.

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