A laboratory researcher examines cancer stem cells. (Image: science photo, via Shutterstock)Backers of a $5.5 billion stem cell research proposal in California today have once again missed a self-imposed, but critical deadline as they continue to struggle with securing enough signatures to place the measure on the November ballot.
A voter signs a petition to place a measure on the statewide ballot. (Photo: Svineyard, via Shutterstock)It’s never easy to get initiatives qualified for the ballot, but this year of the COVID-19 pandemic is the worst ever. Organizations busily trying to get enough signatures to qualify their measure of choice had their efforts abruptly halted two weeks ago because of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sweeping stay-at-home order.
A laboratory stem cell researcher uses a laptop in conjunction with a microscope. (Photo: moreimages, via Shutterstock)A small firm in Menlo Park, Ca., is probably the only company in the nation that is named after the number of a particular human protein. It is a small number too, only 47. But it has large implications for California’s financially strapped state stem cell agency.
A pipette and vessels usd in stem cell research. (Photo: CI Photos, via Shutterstock)The price tag for refinancing California’s unique and ambitious stem cell research program could run to close to $7.8 billion, give or take a few hundred million dollars or more. So says the state’s legislative analyst in a financial analysis of a proposed ballot initiative that is likely to be on next November’s ballot.
A scientist examines cells in a biological laboratory. (Photo: anyalvanova, via Shutterstock)The man expected to lead the drive for $5.5 billion more for California’s stem cell agency today said the Trump restrictions on fetal tissue research represent a dangerous precedent that threatens the health of all Americans.
Blood cells in a bone marrow smear, examined as part of stem cell research. (Photo: toeytoey, via Shutterstock)California’s state stem cell agency is down to its last $67.3 million following a decision Thursday to back research to enhance bone healing in elderly patients who undergo spinal surgery. The $4 million award went to Ankasa Regenerative Therapeutics following little discussion among members of the governing board of the $3 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Human fetal placenta under high magnification. (Photo: photowind, via ShutterstockThe California stem cell agency says the Trump administration’s moves against research involving fetal tissue have had no impact on the projects that it is financing, at least so far. The agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), was responding to a question originally raised by a reader of the California Stem Cell Report.
The science of gene therapy and health care, a concept illustration. (Image: Kentoh, via Shutterstock)California today became the first state in the nation to launch itself into the sizzling field of gene therapy, backed by tens of millions of dollars and with the hope of creating treatments that could permanently cure afflictions ranging from hemophilia to cancer.
A stem cell researcher in the laboratory. (Photo: 18percentgrey, via Shutterstock)The recent federal crackdown on the use of fetal tissue in scientific research could well be a harbinger of an effort to revive restrictions on the use of human embryonic stem cells, placing a roadblock in the way of creation of therapies to treat often deadly afflictions that affect millions of Americans. And it could have an impact on the fate of California’s $3 billion stem cell program, which expects to run out of money for new awards by the end of next year.
Scientists at work in a clinical laboratory. (Photo: Minerva Studio, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Unfortunately, California’s recently passed data privacy law will have unintended consequences for medical research and clinical trials in California and may inadvertently prevent patients like me from accessing the clinical trials that are keeping us alive.