California Stem Cell Agency: 5 Percent Budget Increase for Coming Fiscal Year
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Directors of the California stem cell
agency today approved a $17.4 million operating budget for the fiscal
year beginning July 1, an increase of 5.1 percent over spending for
the current year.
its budget as a decrease in spending. Directors were told that it
represented a 3 percent decline from the current year. However, the
comparison is not made to actual spending for this year. Instead, the
staff compares the 2013-14 budget to budget figures proposed last
May, which are now no more than time-worn ephemera.
and benefits ($12.2 million ) with outside contracting running next
($2 million). (See here for details.) The budget projects 59 employees for next year
compared to 57 currently. CIRM staff said the number of employees is expected to remain about
the same until 2017 or so when its workload is projected to diminish.
money for new grants in 2017, but it is working on a plan to develop
a combination of private and public funding to continue its work.
overseeing about $1.8 billion in nearly 600 grants and loans plus
developing new research proposals that are likely to be funded in the
next few years. The operational budget is capped by law at 6 percent
of the amount of funds the agency distributes over its lifetime.
Source:
Stem Cell Therapy
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May 26th, 2013
$36 Million Recruitment: Names of Researchers Being Lured to California
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Here are the names of the researchers being recruited to California by the California stem cell agency with $36 million in awards. The sixth asked not to be revealed since he/she has yet to tell the current institution and are in
negotiations with their new institution
Nakauchi of the University of Tokyo, who would be moving to Stanford
University
R. Stripp of Duke moving to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Gregory of Harvard and Children’s Hospital, Boston moving to UC
Santa Cruz
Ahrens of Carnegie Mellon moving to UC San Diego
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May 26th, 2013
Stem Cell Agency Approves $36 million to Recruit Six Scientists to California
By Dr. Matthew Watson
The California stem cell agency today
awarded $36 million to six scientists to lure them to the Golden
State, in what was the agency's largest-ever recruiting round.
of CIRM has spent on recruitment. Until today, the agency had awarded
only $23.2 million for four awards.
to $4.8 million. The agency did not immediately identify the recipients. However, testimony at the meeting indicated that two of the institutions involved were UC San Francisco and the Gladstone Institute (the $7.5 million award) and UC Santa Cruz (a $5.4 million award). (The agency later released the list, which can be found here. Here is a link to the CIRM press release.)
The differences in the size of the awards had to do with the overhead charges that are levied by the institutions at which the scientists would work, CIRM staff said. The "direct costs" of the research for each grant was $4.5 million.
latest round, including one that was scored at 75 that was rejected by grant reviewers. However, CIRM staff recommended that application, which involved UC San Francisco and Gladstone, be funded. (See here and here.)
The Parkinson's Institute; Andrew McMahon, USC, and Peter Coffey, UC
Santa Barbara.
Source:Stem Cell Therapy
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May 26th, 2013
California Stem Cell Agency to Court Patient Groups This Summer
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Jonathan Thomas, chairman of the California stem cell agency, said this morning that he and a team from the agency will begin a round of meetings this summer with patient advocate groups throughout the state.
He said the effort is aimed at keeping the groups up to speed on developments at CIRM. While Thomas did not mention it to the agency's governing board, it is also critical that the agency have strong support from patient advocate groups as it tries to develop new sources of funding, either public or private.
The agency will run out of cash for new grants in 2017 and hopes to have a plan for the future before the board later this year. Its initial assumptions include as much as $200 million in onetime public funding with more cash coming from the private sector.
Currently the agency is funded by state bonds at a cost of about $6 billion, including interest. It spends roughly $300 million a year on grants and loans for research.
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May 26th, 2013
Nature Reports on Lee Hood Conflict Case
By Dr. Matthew Watson
The journal Nature and genomeweb.com
today picked up the story from the California Stem Cell Report about
the conflict of interest case at the California stem cell agency involving renown scientist Lee Hood of
Seattle, Wash.
Internet also relayed various versions of the story. The facts were
first reported on this blog yesterday. The matter involved a $24
million application for a genome project involving Irv Weissman of
Stanford. Hood was one of the reviewers in the round. Hood and
Weissman are longtime friends and own property together in Montana.
They have also have a number of professional relationships.
additionally referred to ongoing conflict of interest issues at the agency,
including the findings of an Institute of Medicine study. Harold Shapiro, head of the study, said the agency directors make "proposals to themselves, essentially, regarding what should be funded. They cannot exert independent oversight."
did not mention the IOM study.
Source:Grant Reviewer Conflict in $40 Million Round at California Stem Cell Agency
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Internationally renown scientist Lee
Hood, winner of a National Medal of Science, violated the conflict of
interest policies of the California stem cell agency earlier this
year when he was involved in reviewing applications in a $40 million round to create genomics centers in California.
 |
| Lee Hood Institute of Systems Biology photo |
February violation in letters dated April 2 to the leadership of the
California Legislature. The letter (full text below)
said that Hood “agreed that there was a conflict of interest that
he had overlooked.”
million application that included participation by another eminent
scientist, Irv Weissman of Stanford University, and funding for facilities at
Stanford.
Weissman in Montana. In 2008, San Francisco Magazine, in a well-reported piece on the ballot measure that created the stem cell
agency, described the property as a ranch and Hood as Weissman's
“good buddy.” Hood has co-authored research papers with
Weissman. Both are on the scientific advisory board of Cellerant
Therapeutics, Inc., of San Carlos, Ca., a firm co-founded by
Weissman. Hood's nonprofit firm, Institute for Systems Biology in
Seattle, lists Stanford as a partner in the genetics of aging in humans. At Stanford, Weissman is director of the Institute
for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, whose research
involves aging. Weissman also serves on the Hood's institute's scientific advisory board.
yesterday by the California Stem Cell Report for his perspective on
the conflict of interest matter.
agency during the review. It was raised by another reviewer at the
end of the review, which, for the first time in CIRM history, failed
to conclude with a decision supporting any of the proposals.
Reviewers' comments have been sent back to applicants with another
review scheduled for November. The agency said Hood will not take
part in that session.
today that Hood's conflict was “clearly a case of a new reviewer
making an innocent error.” McCormack said it was not a violation of
the state's conflict of interest law. The agency's conflict policies
go beyond economic issues and deal with personal and professional
conflicts.
“Dr. Hood had not previously
participated in a meeting of the GWG(grant review group), and as a
result, he was not familiar with CIRM’s conflict of interest
policy, particularly the policy’s inclusion of 'personal' conflicts of interest. Thus, when he completed the conflict of
interest form for the Genomics Awards review, he inadvertently
neglected to indicate that he had a personal relationship with an
investigator who was involved in one component of a joint application
submitted by two institutions. Dr. Hood and the investigator are
close personal friends and their families own vacation property
together. Because of his personal relationship with the
investigator, Dr. Hood had a conflict of interest with respect to the
joint application under CIRM’s conflict of interest policies.”
been a guest at the Montana ranch, and whether he recruited Hood as a
reviewer. Last year, Trounson excused himself from participating in
public discussion of another application involving Weissman.
“Alan helps recruit many reviewers,
including in this case Dr. Hood, but he is not involved in assigning
reviewers to individual applications.”
was easily detectable in routine searches on the Internet, including
a Google search on the search term “lee hood irv weissman.” The first
two entries in that search yesterday turned up serious red flags.
sort of serious examination” of the confidential statements of
interests filed by reviewers prior to review sessions, McCormack said,
“Yes, we do a serious examination of
statements of interest from all our reviewers. However, this conflict
was not identified by the reviewer either in the financial disclosure
statement or identified in the conflict of interest list. Normally we
do not check Google for all possible combinations of 15 GWG reviewers
times about 200 individuals listed in these applications. That would
be about 3000 independent Google searches to identify a possible
conflict.”
that it plans to “amend its regulations to add greater clarity in
an effort to prevent future conflicts from arising and to augment its
efforts to educate reviewers, particularly new reviewers.”
questionable activities involving the stem cell agency, which is
trying to come up with a plan to sustain itself after its state
funding runs out in 2017(see here, here and here). The agency is
giving more-than-serious consideration to an effort to raise funds
from the private sector, which can lead to new and more difficult
ethical considerations than a state-funded agency would normally face.
demonstrate is that the $3 billion agency needs to give much more
thought, to put it mildly, to its policies ranging from conflicts of
interest to incompatible employee/director activities to the conduct
of top management in providing special treatment for donors.
interests of reviewers are not examined closely for their accuracy by
CIRM staff and attorneys. McCormack's remarks clearly indicate that
the agency does not think it has time to be sure that no conflicts
exist among its plethora of reviewers. That is precisely the reason
reviewers' statements of interests – economic, professional and
personal – should be made public rather than kept under wraps
by CIRM. Then, interested parties, presumably mainly applicants, can
check a panel of reviewers, if they wish, for conflicts in a
particular round. Obviously, the agency can and should withhold the
names of reviewers examining a specific application – the release
of the names on the panel in a given review session is sufficient.
evaluation subcommittee meets privately to discuss Alan Trounson's
performance. It appears to be the second part of an evaluation
process that began last October. Trounson's involvement with Weissman
and Hood -- and his actions in connection with a $21,630 gift from a member of the public, albeit a not-so-ordinary member of the public
-- should also be on the evaluation subcommittee agenda.
Source:Stem Cell Therapy
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May 26th, 2013
Text of CIRM Comments on Lee Hood Questions
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Here is the full text of the statement
today by Kevin McCormack, senior director for public communications
at the California stem cell agency, in connection with the conflict
of interest issue involving Lee Hood, president of Institute for
Systems Biology of Seattle, Wash. See here for a story on the matter.
to the following questions from the California Stem Cell Report.
“Did (CIRM President Alan) Trounson
recruit Hood to serve on the grants working group?
“Does CIRM perform any sort of
serious examination of the statements of interests of its scientific
reviewers prior to specific review sessions. The conflict involving
Weissman and Hood was easily detected by a Google search. The first
two entries on the search term "lee hood irv weissman"
raise serious red flags. Additionally, I imagine it is more than
common knowledge among many in the scientific community that
these two scientists are longtime friends.”
“Alan helps recruit many reviewers,
including in this case Dr. Hood, but he is not involved in assigning
reviewers to individual applications. Furthermore he expects all
reviewers to declare whatever conflicts they have.
“Yes, we do a serious examination of
statements of interest from all our reviewers. However, this conflict
was not identified by the reviewer either in the financial disclosure
statement or identified in the conflict of interest list. Normally we
do not check Google for all possible combinations of 15 GWG reviewers
times about 200 individuals listed in these applications. That would
be about 3000 independent Google searches to identify a possible
conflict. While this relationship may be known to some it certainly
was not known to the CIRM staff who checked the conflicts. If it had
been they would have raised it before the meeting.“It's also important to point out
that Dr. Hood was a new member of this review panel and was not
familiar with our conflict of interest rules. This was clearly a case
of a new reviewer making an innocent error.“Finally, CIRM’s rules are stricter
than state law, and this would not have been a conflict under
California conflict of interest law.”
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/1ndmVIt2OlQ/text-of-cirm-comments-on-lee-hood.html
Compound In Mediterranean Diet Makes Cancer Cells ‘Mortal’ – South Asia Mail
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Compound In Mediterranean Diet Makes Cancer Cells 'Mortal' South Asia Mail "We know we need to eat healthfully, but in most cases we don't know the actual mechanistic reasons for why we need to do that," said Andrea Doseff, associate professor of internal medicine and molecular genetics at Ohio State and a co-lead author of ... |
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May 26th, 2013
Argentine residents protest against biotechnology company "Monsanto" – Xinhua
By Dr. Matthew Watson
 Xinhua | Argentine residents protest against biotechnology company "Monsanto" Xinhua Residents attend a protest in front of the headquarters of the company "Monsanto", specialized on biotechnology, in the city of Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, May 25, 2013. On Saturday, Argentine residents joined the international "World March ... |
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May 25th, 2013
Anti-Monsanto crowd takes to the streets in Rockland to protest genetically … – Bangor Daily News
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Anti-Monsanto crowd takes to the streets in Rockland to protest genetically ... Bangor Daily News But Benildo de los Reyes, a University of Maine molecular genetics professor, said that it is frustrating that many people have such negative views about science that they don't fully understand. “A very powerful tool is being wasted because of ... |
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May 25th, 2013
Stem Cell Therapy Worldwide – Video
By daniellenierenberg
Stem Cell Therapy Worldwide
http://www.placidway.com/ - Looking for best and affordable stem cell therapy? Placidway offers best and most affordable stem cell therapy with the top docto...
By: placidways #39;s channel
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May 24th, 2013
LaViv stem cell therapy for acne scars – Video
By LizaAVILA
LaViv stem cell therapy for acne scars
Dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Melanie Palm of http://www.artofskinmd.com discusses and demonstrates the use of LaVIV, the first available personalized stem...
By: melaniepalm
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LaViv stem cell therapy for acne scars - Video
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May 22nd, 2013
Italy approves controversial stem cell therapy
By JoanneRUSSELL25
(MENAFN - AFP) Italian lawmakers on Wednesday gave their final approval to a law that allows limited use of a controversial type of stem cell therapy which has been condemned by many scientists but has given hope to families of terminally-ill children.
The law gives the go-ahead for therapy being carried out by the Stamina Foundation on dozens of patients to continue, and allows for an 18-month period of clinical trials for the procedure, which had previously been blocked by Italian authorities.
The bill was amended from an earlier version and states the therapy must be carried out under regulatory oversight and using cells made according to the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) which the Stamina Foundation has not adhered to.
The Stamina Foundation says its treatment is based on mesenchymal stem cells and could treat diseases like spinal cord injury and motor neurone disease.
But leading scientists have warned that there is no evidence to suggest the treatment could work and no way to know that it will not cause harm.
Patients lobbied for the therapy to be given the go-ahead, receiving support from various celebrities including actress Gina Lollobrigida.
At one demonstration, protesters wore T-shirts with the slogan: "Yes to Stamina, Yes to Life".
The association Stem Cell Research Italy has branded the new law as "unacceptable" saying the therapy was not backed up by clinical data published in peer-reviewed academic journals.
US journal Nature said it was a "rogue" therapy.
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May 22nd, 2013
Italy approves law on controversial stem cell therapy
By Sykes24Tracey
Italian lawmakers on Wednesday gave their final approval to a law that allows limited use of a controversial type of stem cell therapy which has been condemned by many scientists but has given hope to families of terminally-ill children.
The law gives the go-ahead for therapy being carried out by the Stamina Foundation on dozens of patients to continue, and allows for an 18-month period of clinical trials for the procedure, which had previously been blocked by Italian authorities.
The bill was amended from an earlier version and states the therapy must be carried out under regulatory oversight and using cells made according to the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) which the Stamina Foundation has not adhered to.
The Stamina Foundation says its treatment is based on mesenchymal stem cells and could treat diseases like spinal cord injury and motor neurone disease.
But leading scientists have warned that there is no evidence to suggest the treatment could work and no way to know that it will not cause harm.
Umberto Galderisi from the University of Naples and president of Stem Cell Italy, is among critics of the bill.
He said the clinical trials would "never have been allowed" if scientific accepted practice had been followed.
"This is legislating on the basis of public opinion. It means exploiting suffering. Patients are not lab rats," he told AFP, adding there were "no scientific certainties" the therapy could work.
"We do not want Italy to become one of those countries like China or Ukraine where there are untested scientific trials," he said.
Patients lobbied for the therapy to be given the go-ahead, receiving support from various celebrities including actress Gina Lollobrigida.
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Italy approves law on controversial stem cell therapy
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May 22nd, 2013
Sports Medicine New Frontiers: Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) and Stem Cell Therapy
By Dr. Matthew Watson
CLEARWATER, Fla., May 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sports Medicine is always at the forefront of innovative medical technology. Athletes are constantly striving to improve. Records are broken as humans run faster, jump higher, and strive for higher levels of performance. Athletes expose their bodies to more wear and tear as performance increases. Scientific training principles and diet have changed drastically over time. Technological breakthroughs have also impacted the rehabilitation process. The use of regenerative medicine has grown significantly in recent years. The popularity of Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) has escalated as many high profile elite athletes from a diverse array of sports have opted for this treatment. The likes of Kobe Bryant, Rafael Nadal, and Tiger Woods garner ample press coverage when they are treated for injuries. Stem Cell Therapy becomes headlines when Peyton Manning undergoes this treatment. The goal of regenerative medicine therapies is to aid the body to heal itself. Understanding and accepting stem cell therapies for athletic injuries and sports medicine is gathering keen interest.
Dr. Dennis Lox, http://www.drlox.com a Sports and Regenerative Medicine Physician in the Tampa Bay Florida area, comments that the scientific backdrop of cell signaling and inflammatory mediators has led to a new understanding of how tissues heal. This also explains why injured tissues fail to heal, and is why the aging athlete recovers and heals more slowly than his younger counterpart. It is felt that the use of growth factors in Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) is a localized cellular response to control negative repair processes and direct healing toward a positive restorative pathway. This directional approach to control repair, is more complex in stem cells, and as such, may be more effective for healing injured tissue. The stem cells are the body's repair cells that direct the necessary patterns of cellular messenger signals to target the repair process. It is not a simple chemical reaction where two chemicals react and one outcome results. There are a myriad of complicated molecules that interact to direct the repair process, and to counter the effects of a multitude of other molecules and signals regulating the breakdown or degradation of tissue. Dr. Lox points out, it is overcoming the many undesirable messages that occur with injury, whereby regenerative medicine may enhance sports injury recovery. Athletes are in need of rapid recovery to avoid losing peak conditioning. Aging athletes do not heal as effectively. Finding successful measures to aid the body in the healing naturally, is desirable for athletes and in preventing degenerative arthritis. Understanding the scientific rationale for the use of Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) and Stem Cell Therapy, may pave the way for the expansive role for these treatments in future directions for athletic injury.
About Dr. Dennis Lox Dr. Lox practices in the Tampa Bay Florida area. Dr. Lox is a Sports and Regenerative Medicine Physician, who specializes in the use of regenerative and restorative medicine to assist in treating athletic and arthritis conditions. Dr. Lox may be reached at (727) 462-5582 or visit Drlox.com.
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Sports Medicine New Frontiers: Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) and Stem Cell Therapy
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May 20th, 2013
Treatment of a patient with Parkinson’s Disease using stem cell therapy – Video
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Treatment of a patient with Parkinson #39;s Disease using stem cell therapy
Here we demonstrate how a patient who suffers from Parkinson #39;s Disease has benefited from stem cell therapy with us in Panama.
By: SCRMPanama
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May 19th, 2013
Ellen Jorgensen is dragging genetic engineering away from the scare stories – Wired.co.uk
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Ellen Jorgensen is dragging genetic engineering away from the scare stories Wired.co.uk Biohackers are rare -- costs have kept genetic engineering in the realm of big pharma and university labs. But Ellen Jorgensen, a PhD molecular biologist, sees a tipping point: "You can sequence genes on a computer, email them to a lab and a week later ... |
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May 19th, 2013
Progenics Pharmaceuticals Added to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index – NASDAQ
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Progenics Pharmaceuticals Added to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index NASDAQ The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is designed to track the performance of a set of NASDAQ Stock Market-listed securities classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB) as either Biotechnology or Pharmaceuticals. The NASDAQ ... NASDAQ Biotechnology Index surpasses all-time high in 1Q13Lexology (registration) |
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May 19th, 2013
State to market growing biotechnology industry – al.com
By Dr. Matthew Watson
State to market growing biotechnology industry al.com BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Alabama's burgeoning biotech industry, with about 550 companies statewide, has to a degree escaped the notice of the world, Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield said today. The state intends to change that. |
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May 19th, 2013
Teachers become the students at biotechnology symposium – Medill Reports: Chicago
By Dr. Matthew Watson
 Medill Reports: Chicago | Teachers become the students at biotechnology symposium Medill Reports: Chicago Chicago area high school students will spend less time at their desks next fall after their science teachers attended the second annual Biotechnology Symposium Tuesday at Northwestern University. The conference and upcoming summer development series ... |
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May 19th, 2013