Newsroom

January 20, 2012

Scotland and California Announce International Collaboration to Advance Stem Cell Research toward Cures Edinburgh, Scotland—The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state’s stem cell agency, and Scottish Development International (SDI) announced an international collaboration on stem cell research. The agreement was signed by the chief executive of Scottish Development International, Anne MacColl, and the president of CIRM, Alan Trounson.

January 17, 2012

CIRM allocates $40 million to support stem cell genomics, speeding development of therapies for patients San Diego, Calif.—California stem cell scientists will have a new resource for advancing therapies with a $40 million initiative approved today by the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency created by proposition 71. The initiative will fund one or two Stem Cell Genomics Centers of Excellence in California.

December 08, 2011

CIRM approves $27 million for initiatives to accelerate promising stem cell research projects Los Angeles, Calif. – The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency, today enhanced its efforts to proactively discover and fund innovative research and to provide continuous support to successful research programs, speeding the development of new stem cell-based therapies.

December 06, 2011

CIRM Appoints Biotech Executive Matthew Plunkett as Chief Financial Officer

November 14, 2011

Geron discontinues stem cell program, CIRM optimistic about future of stem cell therapies Today Menlo Park, Calif-based Geron, Inc announced that they are discontinuing their stem cell programs, including the trial CIRM has supported testing an embryonic stem cell product for spinal cord injury. In May, 2011 CIRM announced a $25 million loan to Geron to support their spinal cord injury trial, which was the first trial of cells derived from embryonic stem cells. Geron had received $6.42 million of their loan, which the company today repaid in full with accrued interest. The company says they are seeking partners to continue its stem cell programs.

October 26, 2011

CIRM allocates $38 million for programs to foster young scientists and fund basic stem cell discoveries Irvine, Calif.—Today the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency, approved future funding rounds worth $38 million that would foster creativity and scientific innovation in high school students and fund basic stem cell discoveries. The agency also approved $30 million toward a program that will cultivate partnerships between stem cell scientists and biotech and pharmaceutical companies whose support and expertise will be needed as agency-funded programs move into later stage clinical trials.

October 25, 2011

California state stem cell agency enters historic agreement to foster collaboration between California researchers and National Institutes of Health investigators October 26, 2011, San Francisco, Calif. — The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is entering agreements to foster collaborative funding of research with outside funding agencies. One such agreement is with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell agency created by Proposition 71.

September 28, 2011

Advocates to Celebrate Stem Cell Awareness Day Around the Globe October 5, Gather in Pasadena for World Summit San Francisco, Calif.,—Patients, advocates, researchers and students around the globe will celebrate Stem Cell Awareness Day on October 5, with special activities planned in six countries and five states in the U.S. with at least 25 events at academic and research institutions in California alone. Stem cell researches will also visit over 50 high school classrooms in California.

September 20, 2011

First Californian Enrolls in Clinical Trial Funded by State Stem Cell Agency San Francisco, Calif.—On September 17 the first patient was enrolled in a clinical trial funded in part by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell agency. The trial is testing an investigational therapy derived from embryonic stem cells in patients with spinal cord injury, marking a milestone in CIRM’s progress from funding basic discoveries to clinical research.

August 25, 2011

CIRM commits $1.8 million to build stem cell teams, accelerate new therapies Stanford, Calif – The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency created by proposition 71, today approved funding $1.8 million to support 19 researchers in their effort to assemble competitive teams to develop applications for the Disease Team Therapy Development Awards, which will be due in winter 2012.

July 27, 2011

CIRM applauds decision to reject lawsuit that could have halted federal funding for stem cell research San Francisco, Calif.—The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency, applauds today’s decision by the District Court for the District of Columbia, which dismissed a lawsuit that threatened to halt the ability of federal agencies to fund human embryonic stem cell research.

June 23, 2011

CIRM Allocates $30 million to Seize Stem Cell Research Opportunities, Accelerate the Pace of New Cures San Diego, Calif., June 23, 2011 -The Governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency created by proposition 71, today approved the concept for a $30 million initiative that is intended to make the agency more nimble in seizing emerging opportunities in the rapidly evolving field. The new Opportunity Fund has three components:

June 22, 2011

Jonathan Thomas Succeeds Robert Klein as CIRM Board Chair San Diego, Calif., June 22, 2011 -- Jonathan Thomas, Ph.D., J.D., will be the new Chairman of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency created by proposition 71. The agency’s 29-member Governing Board elected Thomas to the six-year term, replacing outgoing chair Robert Klein who has served in the position since the agency’s inception in 2004.

May 04, 2011

CIRM awards $25 million to support spinal cord injury trial, $37.7 million for basic stem cell science The Governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the State Stem Cell Agency, approved a $25 million award to support the first FDA-approved clinical trial based on cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. The award to Menlo Park-based Geron, Corp, will support the company’s on-going early phase trial for people with spinal cord injury. This is the first time the agency, which was created by the passage of proposition 71 in 2004, has funded a human clinical trial testing a stem cell-derived therapy.

April 29, 2011

Statement regarding U.S. appeals court decision overturning the preliminary injunction on human embryonic stem cell research The leadership of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell agency, applauds the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals that overturned a lower court’s preliminary injunction that halted federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. This move allows federal agencies such as the NIH to continue funding embryonic stem cell research pending a final decision by the district court and the appellate courts.

March 28, 2011

Stem cell agencies for California and India sign agreement to fund collaborative research projects that can accelerate regenerative medicine toward therapies The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell agency created by Proposition 71, and the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inSTEM), an autonomous unit of the Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines ways the two agencies can jointly fund collaborative research projects that bring together top stem cell scientists in California and top stem cell scientists in India.

March 21, 2011

CIRM Signs Agreement with France – As the French Debate the Ethics of Stem Cell Science The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state’s stem cell agency, has signed a collaborative agreement on stem cell research with the French Government’s Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR). The agreement between CIRM and the French Government coincides with news of the birth of France's first "saviour sibling," a designer baby conceived in vitro to provide stem cells to treat a brother suffering from beta thalassemia, a severe blood disorder which destroys red blood cells and can lead to anemia.

March 10, 2011

CIRM extends support to shared labs, providing $22 million to a program that leverages grants and enables collaboration The 17 California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Shared Laboratories will continue receiving support to train stem cell scientists and provide research assistance for an additional three years after the state stem cell agency Governing Board today voted to extend funding. The $22 million in additional support will continue services that have enabled scores of collaborations and sped stem cell research in California.

January 27, 2011

CIRM approves funding $32 million to remove hurdles to new stem cell therapies Burlingame, Calif., January 27, 2010 -The Governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency created by proposition 71, today approved funding $32 million to 19 research projects intending to create new tools and technologies that overcome barriers to moving stem cell research into clinical trials. The 19 awards went to seven not-for-profit and three for-profit institutions. The goal of the awards is to look ahead to the barriers scientists see now, and eliminate them before they can slow the progress toward the clinic.

January 26, 2011

CIRM Generating 25,000 Jobs and $200 million in Taxes for California with Grants Awarded So Far—with More to Come January 27, 2011, San Francisco, Calif. — The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency created by voters with Proposition 71, today released an independent economic impact study that shows CIRM has already delivered significant financial benefit for the state with its first $1.1 billion in grants creating 25,000 job years and $200 million in new tax revenue through 2014.