CIRM’s Roth Dies Following Bike Accident

Posted: August 11, 2013 at 2:59 am

Duane Roth, co-vice chairman of the
California stem cell agency, died yesterday from brain injuries
suffered in a bicycle accident two weeks ago.
Duane Roth, Connect photo

Roth, CEO of Connect, a San Diego
organization aimed at fostering technology entrepreneurship,
succumbed yesterday afternoon at the UC San Diego Medical Center, the
San Diego U-T reported. He was 63.
An avid bicyclist, Roth was injured
while biking in the mountains east of San Diego July 21. Roth hit an
outcropping and his helmet was broken in the accident.
Roth was a long-time member of the
29-person governing board of the $3 billion California stem cell
agency and was a strong advocate for industry. He chaired the
agency's loan task force, was vice chair of the Intellectual Property
and Industry Engagement Subcommittee and a member of the executive
committee.
J.T. Thomas, chairman of the stem cell
agency, released the following statement this morning.

“On behalf of all the CIRM family, we
mourn the loss of our colleague and dear friend Duane Roth. 
Throughout his tenure with us, he was one of the true stewards of the
mission, offering countless insights on the role of industry in the
world of regenerative medicine and how best and efficiently to drive
therapies through to patients.  He was unfailingly a voice of
reason and optimism and always sought to find ways to make things
happen, refusing to take 'no' for an answer.  Though one of 29
Board members, his extensive participation as co-Vice Chair of the
Board, co-chair of Intellectual Property and Industry Engagement
Subcommittee and a member of our Executive Committee gave Duane a
singularly important and resonant voice in our organization. 
His passing will be deeply felt by all of us as well as by the many
patients and other CIRM stakeholders whom he touched over the years. 
We send our deepest sympathies to Renee, Duane's brothers and the
rest of the Roth family.”

Roth recently was involved in raising
funds for cancer, and reporter Bradley Fikes wrote in the San Diego
U-T,

“Contributions in Roth’s name can
be made to Pedal
the Cause, a fund-raiser for cancer research that Roth supported.
More than $10,000 has been raised since Roth's accident."

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/58gRzPR09kU/cirms-roth-dies-following-bike-accident.html

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