“We will have at least two clinical
sites in California, and more likely up to 4 sites, 2) our viral
vector manufacturing will occur in California, 3) our cell processing
will occur in California, 4) we will hire several consultants and
full-time employees within California to support the program.
Overall, several million dollars will be spent employing the services
of people, academic institutions, and other companies within the
state of California.”

“We began the process (with CIRM)
early in (2012) but discussions have been going on for over a year
about potentially pursuing this.

“The interaction with CIRM has been
extraordinarily collaborative. We had contact with the coordinators
at CIRM that helped us manage the process. It took a lot of effort on
our part to put together a dossier providing support for our program.
It was really like a mini-regulatory filing — on the science, the
preclinical toxicology work that we’ve done, a detailed plan for
the trial, a detailed plan for the budgets, a detailed plan on how we
intended to spend the CIRM money in California. That was an important
part of it. They wanted a clear plan on how this investment would be
spent."

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/zR-Ht90u_7o/bluebird-bio-of-massachusetts-still.html

“Last
year I was invited to the Vatican to
present a paper, but when I sent in a summary of what I was going to
say, they decided not to have it. They sent a check to the treasurer
of California and the treasurer rang us up and said, "What the
heck is this check from the Vatican for?" It was for the
inconvenience!”

“The money was actually a wire
transfer from the Vatican to us for $453.23 and it went to CIRM's
account. It was to reimburse us for money spent on plane tickets,
etc., for Dr. Trounson to attend the Vatican conference on stem
cells.”   

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/bOQKBXJGmJ8/vatican-funding-for-california-stem.html

“Robert Klein is no longer chairman
of California's stem cell bureaucracy, but it is still doing things
his way. Which is too bad for all concerned.

“Klein is the former developer and
financier who wrote and sponsored the ballot measure that created the
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The ballot language
practically guaranteed he would be the chairman, and he ran the
agency the way he ran his businesses, using undisclosed side deals
and other machinations to create webs that outsiders could never
penetrate.

“Now, Klein has been replaced as
chairman, but he is still up to his old tricks.”

“Much has been said about the agency
setting a new more straightforward direction now that Klein is gone,
but so far it seems to be following a twisting and expensive path
toward irrelevance and litigation.”

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/SGmn7k9T1Vw/monterey-newspaper-chides-california.html

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/So_NOlmLU2E/californias-alpha-stem-cell-clinics.html

“Another boondoggle for some medical
schools but made to order for private operators like for profit
cancer, dialysis, and laser eye specialty clinics that do one
procedure.  I can see each of the medical schools gifted with
one as they each were gifted with about 25 million dollars for stem
cell institute buildings; and CIRM and (Irv) Weissman's companies
like Stem Cells, Inc., getting a piece of the action as well.  Of
course the deans and chancellors on the CIRM steering committee will
vote for it. How can they not? It's money in their pockets.

“This has the fit and feel of, say,
old Latin American Laetrile clinics or offshore clinics offering
suspect surgeries or injections for cancers, Parkinson's disease, and
the like.  It makes no difference that they are set up in
California.  CIRM will pay for an unneeded infrastructure that
will be empty space and staff sitting on their hands 99% of the
time.  Or worse yet, CIRM will pay but the space will be used
for other things, other clinic procedures paid for by insurance.  

“Now (CIRM President Alan) Trounson and
CIRM want to get into the medical tourism business making California
a 'go-to place' for stem cell treatments.  They want to start
with bone marrow injections and transplants, procedures that cancer
centers do regularly.  All CIRM needs is a drug or treatment. 
It's not like there are tons of drugs out there and the only barrier
is the lack of clinical space and capacity.  The start up time
for any one drug is very long.

“NIH at various times has tried to
organize clinical trials groups with infrastructure, like quick
reaction forces, ready to gear up for a new trial at the drop of a
hat. They mainly did nothing but suck money, kept staff employed,
because there are generally few drugs ready for early human trials
and each treatment that is brought along requires a unique contract,
ethics reviews, and different facilities, equipment and staff than
planned for.  The latest incarnation are CTSAs or CTSIs,
clinical and translational science centers funded by the federal NIH
that most if not all California medical schools already have.

“The CIRM clinics are going to be
generic stem cell clinics advancing California tourism.  Come to
California, we will inject stem cells for any illness, in any part of
your body, never mind that cancer is different from heart disease is
different from bone disease is different from brain disease, no
matter.  Next step is for CIRM to form a travel agency with
discounted air and Ritz Carlton packages for patients and extended
family non-stop from China.  There is likely considerable
revenue to be generated here and Trounson, Weissman, and (Robert)
Klein (former CIRM chairman) should find a way to benefit. It sounds
so wonderful!!  The public will love it.  Now all they need
are some treatments.  Love the name: Alpha Clinics, they
wouldn't want to start with Beta test clinics when they can go big
from the get-go.  What an irresponsible waste.”    

The other comments can be found at the end of the original item or in the column to the right of this item, headed "recent comments."

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/nKbicxl9mzA/70-million-alpha-stem-cell-clinic.html

"I'm intending to set up a network of
stem cell clinics in California in the next couple of years, to make
treatments available as clinical trials or as registered treatments
for patients. I'm going to ask the [CIRM] board for about $70 million
to get that set up. It will make California a go-to place for stem
cell therapies. I want to make sure it's part of our medical fabric."

“Initially the clinics would use the
capacities and infrastructure in the most advanced university medical
clinics to deliver bone-marrow stem cell therapies. As research
evolves, so will the treatments and services offered.”

"These clinics will initially serve
to get patients into clinical trials or to offer sound advice to
individuals who might otherwise go overseas to receive harmful stem
cell therapies from disreputable clinics.

"'I’m willing to invest money to
get these [clinics] up,' Trounson said. 'I think if nothing happens
beyond 2017 and we don’t get any refunding, we can leave a
footprint of stem cell clinics in California that will go on
forever.'"

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/lND8J7NKqzc/trounson-proposes-70-million-fast-track.html