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California Stem Cell Agency Seeks Lobbyist Bids

April 28th, 2013 3:08 am

The California stem cell agency has put
out a bid for a private lobbyist to watch out for its interests in
Sacramento, perhaps severing a longtime relationship with one of the
Capitol's more prestigious power brokers.
The $3 billion agency has had
a contract since 2005 with Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross &
Leoni LLP
of Sacramento, which reported lobbying revenue last
year of more than $5 million. That made it one of the top revenue producers among California lobbyists.
The agency's contract is tiny, however.
It started at $49,900 for five months in 2005 on a no-bid contract with Nielsen, although the annual figure is now $49,999.  The agency's request this month for bids calls for a boost to $65,000 annually.
Nielsen Merksamer is very active in
health care lobbying. Its biotech/pharmaceutical clients have included Genentech, Merck &
Co
. and Pfizer. The firm also played a role in the drafting of and
campaign for Proposition 71 in 2004. In 2009, at the behest of
Robert Klein, then chairman of the agency, it produced a legal memo
that Klein used to help box in the agency governing board on taking a
position on the Little Hoover Commission report recommending major
changes at the enterprise.
The stem cell agency is one of the few
agencies that hires a private lobbyist, which has raised some
eyebrows. Nearly all agencies handle legislative relations
internally.
Deadline for bids is May 3.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/0HfVYv0XVQg/california-stem-cell-agency-seeks.html

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Stem Cell Agency Provides More Cost Detail on Future Plans

April 28th, 2013 3:08 am

The California stem cell agency today clarified the size of the assumed "public investment" in its rough outline of its plan for future activities. 


In response to a query from the California Stem Cell Report, Don Gibbons, a spokesman for the agency, said,

"This hypothetical range of public investment ($50 million to $200 million) is thought of as a one-time investment, with hope of private investments in multiples of that with the fund recharging to some extent based on revenue."

Gibbons also said the agency did not want to indicate what it was prepared to pay for the study.  He said, 

 "We have not wanted to post the budget range because we want honest estimates of what folks think the budget should be rather than having them penciling estimates that max out the budget."


Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/rXqOoGO0Z0k/stem-cell-agency-provides-more-cost.html

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Deadline This October: California Stem Cell Agency Seeking Detailed Public-Private Plan for its Future

April 28th, 2013 3:08 am

The $3 billion California stem cell
agency, which is currently scheduled to go out of business in a few
years, hopes to come up with a detailed plan by this fall for a novel
public-private arrangement that would extend its life.

The rough outlines of the proposal
assume $50 to $200 million in “public investment,” although it is
not clear whether that would be a one-time figure or an annual amount
from presumably the state budget or perhaps another state bond
measure. The concept includes additional private funding of a
yet-to-be-determined nature. (The agency later said that the public investment figures would be a one-time event.)
The broad sketch of the agency's latest
thinking about how to regenerate itself was found in an RFP posted four days ago on its website.
CIRM is seeking a consultant who would
flesh out the general concepts that it has offered. Work would
begin in mid June and be completed in four months, close to the ninth
anniversary of the agency, formally known as the California
Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
The RFP did not contain a figure
for the cost of the study, but said that the price would be part of
the criteria for evaluating bids.
CIRM was created in November 2004 when
California voters approved Proposition 71, a ballot initiative. Since
then it has awarded $1.8 billion to 595 recipients. It is funded by
money borrowed by the state (bonds), but cash for new grants is
scheduled to run out in 2017. Interests costs on the bonds raise the
total cost of the agency to roughly $6 billion.
CIRM said in the RFP that the plan for
its future should provide

“...an in-depth analysis of various
public-private funding models with potential to attract private
sector investment to, and facilitate further development of the most
promising CIRM-supported research projects; and recommend a single
preferred approach for achieving this goal, complete with details
relating to the recommended structure and an operational plan.”

The RFP also contained a just-released,
$31,750 study by CBT Advisors of Cambridge, Mass, that examined
mechanisms for financing translational research, which is the key
focus nowadays at the stem cell agency. Such research is aimed at
pushing laboratory findings into the marketplace.
Among other things, the CBT report,
whose lead author was Steve Dickman, said,

“The nature of CIRM as a state agency
is perhaps the biggest weak point (and) has to be addressed politically
and cleared up as soon as possible or raising money will be
unnecessarily challenging.”

The CBT study did not address how that
might be done, which could be a considerable task. Proposition 71
modified the state constitution and state law and can be altered only
by a super, super majority vote of the legislature or by another
ballot initiative.
California is the first state to
provide billions for stem cell research by using borrowed money. It
also is unique in California state government in that its funding
flows directly to the agency and cannot be altered by the governor or
the legislature.
Translating all that into some sort of
public-private arrangement would be novel among state government
departments and could well require legislative or voter approval.
The California Stem Cell Report has
queried the agency concerning the frequency of the assumed “public
investment” and CIRM's budget for the RFP. We will report that
information when we receive it.  (The agency later declined to disclose what it was prepared to pay for the study.)

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/bdJQjlhAoPM/deadline-this-october-california-stem.html

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MS Stem Cell Therapy – Part 1 – Video

April 27th, 2013 2:43 pm


MS Stem Cell Therapy - Part 1
Over the last decade a Canadian team has been working on a ground breaking stem cell therapy their research has yet to be published, but the patients who hav...

By: GlobalToronto

Excerpt from:
MS Stem Cell Therapy - Part 1 - Video

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Stem Cell Panama- Doctor Rodriguez’s Interview – Video

April 26th, 2013 10:45 pm


Stem Cell Panama- Doctor Rodriguez #39;s Interview
Watch great and informational interview of Doctor Rodriguez. The innovative treatment by using Stem Cells is available in Panama. Contact PlacidWay. For More...

By: placidways

Read more from the original source:
Stem Cell Panama- Doctor Rodriguez's Interview - Video

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A KEY TO REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: Discovery of a new adult stem cell with special properties – Video

April 25th, 2013 1:42 pm


A KEY TO REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: Discovery of a new adult stem cell with special properties
Learn about the exciting discovery that could revolutionize regenerative medicine by providing a source to produce organs derived from a patient #39;s own stem c...

By: YourekaScience

Link:
A KEY TO REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: Discovery of a new adult stem cell with special properties - Video

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ADIPOSE FAT STEM CELLS – SVF Now Available in Texas – Innovations Medical Stem Cell Center – Video

April 25th, 2013 1:41 pm


ADIPOSE FAT STEM CELLS - SVF Now Available in Texas - Innovations Medical Stem Cell Center
http://www.InnovationsStemCellCenter.com 214.699.6948.

By: InnovationsStemCell

See the original post here:
ADIPOSE FAT STEM CELLS - SVF Now Available in Texas - Innovations Medical Stem Cell Center - Video

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Stem Cell Institute Public Seminar on Adult Stem Cell Therapy in Miami, Florida May 11th, 2013

April 24th, 2013 7:41 pm

The Stem Cell Institute, located in Panama City, Panama, will present an informational umbilical cord stem cell therapy seminar on Saturday, May 11, 2013 in Miami, Florida at the Conrad Hotel from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

Miami, Florida (PRWEB) April 24, 2013

Speakers and topics include:

"Umbilical cord stem cells: regeneration, repair, inflammation and autoimmunity" - Neil Riordan, PhD

Dr. Riordan is the Founder of the Stem Cell Institute and Medistem Panama Inc.

Dr. Paz is the Medical Director at the Stem Cell Institute. Dr. Paz practiced internal medicine in the United States for over a decade before joining the Stem Cell Institute in Panama.

Dr. Lowe is a psychiatrist at Amen Clinics in New York City.

Raymond Cralle is a physical therapist at Cralle Physical Therapy in Delray Beach, Florida.

After the talks, our speakers and stem cell therapy patients will be on hand to share their personal experiences and answer questions.

Admission is free but space is limited and registration is required. For venue information and to register and reserve your tickets today, please visit: http://scimiamiseminar.eventbrite.com/ or call Cindy Cunningham, Patient Events Coordinator, at 1 (800) 980-7836.

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Stem Cell Institute Public Seminar on Adult Stem Cell Therapy in Miami, Florida May 11th, 2013

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Stem Cell Therapy Market in Asia-Pacific to 2018 – Commercialization Supported by Favorable Government Policies …

April 24th, 2013 7:41 pm

NEW YORK, April 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Stem Cell Therapy Market in Asia-Pacific to 2018 - Commercialization Supported by Favorable Government Policies, Strong Pipeline and Increased Licensing Activity

http://www.reportlinker.com/p01075729/Stem-Cell-Therapy-Market-in-Asia-Pacific-to-2018---Commercialization-Supported-by-Favorable-Government-Policies-Strong-Pipeline-and-Increased-Licensing-Activity.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Biological_Therapy

Stem Cell Therapy Market in Asia-Pacific to 2018 - Commercialization Supported by Favorable Government Policies, Strong Pipeline and Increased Licensing Activity

Summary

GBI Research, the leading business intelligence provider, has released its latest research "Stem Cell Therapy Market in Asia-Pacific to 2018 - Commercialization Supported by Favorable Government Policies, Strong Pipeline and Increased Licensing Activity". The report provides an in-depth analysis on stem cell research and development in India, China, Japan, South-Korea and Singapore. The report market analysis and forecasts for CABG, LSCT, Type 1 DM, Type 2 DM, Hearticellgram, Cerecellgram, Cartistem and Cupistem. The report also provides information on trends and pipelines. In addition to this, the report covers market drivers and challenges for stem cell research market.

This report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research and in-house analysis by GBI Research's team of industry experts.

GBI Research analysis finds the stem cell therapy market was valued at $545m in 2012, and is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10% from 2012 to 2018, to attain a value of $972m in 2018. The market is poised for significant growth in the forecast period due to the anticipated launch of JCR Pharmaceuticals' JR-031 (2014) in Japan and FCB Pharmicell's Cerecellgram (CCG) (2015) in South Korea. The research is mainly in early stages, with the majority of the molecules being in early stages of development (Phase I/II and Phase II). Phase I/II and Phase II contribute 67% of the pipeline. Stem cell research is dominated by hospitals/universities/institutions, which contribute 63% of the molecules in the pipeline. The dominance of institutional research is attributable to uncertain therapeutic outcomes in stem cell research.The major companies conducting research in India include Reliance Life Sciences and Stempeutics Research Pvt Ltd, among others. The major institutions include PGIMER and AIIMS.

Scope

- Country analysis of regulatory framework of India, China, South-Korea, Japan and Singapore - In-depth information and analysis on the pipeline products expected to bring a shift to the market positions of the leading manufacturers. - Market characterization data for stem cell research for CABG, LSCT, Type 1 DM, Type 2 DM, Hearticellgram, Cerecellgram, Cartistem and Cupistem. - Key drivers and restraints that have a significant impact on the market. - Competitive landscape of stem cell research in Asia-Pacific. The key companies discussed in this report are Stempeutics, Reliance Lifesciences, International Stem cell services, Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology, JCR Pharmaceuticals, ES Cells International, Stem Cell Technologies i, Pharmicell and Medipost - Key M&A activities, licensing agreements, that have taken place between stem cell companies in 2007 till date.

Follow this link:
Stem Cell Therapy Market in Asia-Pacific to 2018 - Commercialization Supported by Favorable Government Policies ...

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Kris wants stem cell therapy for son Josh

April 23rd, 2013 9:43 am

Joshua Aquino plays piano for mom Kris. File photo

MANILA, Philippines Host-actress Kris Aquino explained that one of the reasons she is going on temporary leave from showbiz is because she wanted her eldest son, Josh, to undergo stem cell therapy.

During her morning talk show on ABS-CBN, Kris TV, on Tuesday, Aquino said she is considering three options for the treatment of Josh, who is a special child.

The first option is for Josh to undergo treatment in Europe, where live animal stem cells are used.

Kasi meron akong mga friends na yung mga anak nila underwent stem cell therapy and yung condition nila is just like Josh. They had special children, Aquino explained to comedienne Melai Cantiveros, her guest co-host on Kris TV.

Kasi sobrang laki yung naging improvement. So tomorrow, Melai, meron kaming appointment kay Dr. Rex Gloria, who is involved with one of those hospitals sa Europe na gumagawa nito, she added.

Aquino said her second option is to avail of a new treatment in Singapore, which involves the use of fat-derived human stem cells.

Meron daw sa Singapore na kinukuha daw sa nanay yung stem cell. Parang manggagaling sa fat ng nanay, kasi yung fat ng nanay ang pinaka-highly concentrated yung stem cell, doon, she said. So kukunin either sa hita daw o sa tiyan ng mom, tapos ita-transfer doon sa anak.

Meanwhile, Aquino said her third option is to go to The Medical City in Pasig.

May pangatlo pa being done in Medical City naman now. But that study will be done in July. Yun naman, galing sa bone marrow. Medyo masakit daw yun talaga kasi imagine, bone marrow extraction, she said.

Continue reading here:
Kris wants stem cell therapy for son Josh

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Kris wants Josh to undergo stem cell therapy

April 23rd, 2013 9:43 am

Kris Aquino will try anything -- even the new stem cell therapy technology in Singapore to help eldest son Josh cope with his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) condition. Read related story: Kris In Search For Joshuas House

"Meron akong mga friends na yung mga anak nila underwent stem cell therapy. And yung condition nila is just like Josh's and they're special children. Sobrang laki kasi yung naging improvement," Kris said on "KrisTV" on Tuesday, April 23.

Physical exam

Kris said Josh will have a physical exam on April 24 to check if he is fit to undergo stem cell therapy.

"Hindi mo naman matatanggi sa akin na anything to improve my son kasi ngayon na-achieve namin yung physical improvement. Kasi di ba naka-lose nga siya ng 120 pounds? So ngayon we have the means naman, bakit hindi ko susubukan kung makakatulong ito for him to become more verbal, yung cognitive skills lalong ma-improve?"

She added, "Meron raw sa Singapore na kinukuha rin sa nanay, yung stem cell. Manggagaling raw sa fat ng nanay. Kasi yung fat ng nanay ang highly-concentrated ang stem cell. So kukunin either sa tiyan or hita ng nanay then itatransfer sa anak."

ABS-CBN announced that Kris will take a leave from work in June to attend to her sons' needs, including bringing Josh abroad "to advance his developmental progress."

Also read: Kris not resigning, will 'take a leave instead'

Adult Josh

"Iyan ita-try nating lahat kasi it's so hard to believe that this June 4, Josh is turning 18. May adult na akong anak. Ita-try natin ito. Part of the reason why I'm taking a leave is because I want Josh to have these opportunities for medical improvement, lalo na andun na siya sa magandang timbang, magandang health, magandang behavior. So, ita-try namin ito para tuloy-tuloy ang progress ng anak ko," she said.

Here is the original post:
Kris wants Josh to undergo stem cell therapy

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Alternative to knee replacement: The guinea pig arthritis model! – Video

April 21st, 2013 6:43 am


Alternative to knee replacement: The guinea pig arthritis model!
http://www.stemcellsarthritistreatment.com Guinea pig science models... how are they going to help us with stem cell repair of cartilage? Sato and colleagues...

By: Nathan Wei

Originally posted here:
Alternative to knee replacement: The guinea pig arthritis model! - Video

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Are Biodegradable Heart Stents Safe?

April 21st, 2013 3:12 am

A breakthrough has been achieved in the stream of medical science. An alternative to the metallic stent has been found and is called biodegradable or bio-absorbable stents.

Difference between the two

Metallic stents which are in use for a long time now, had some disadvantages. These stents helps to keep the blocked arteries open to enable the flow of oxygen and blood, but also causes retenosis, that is, it scars up vessel tissue causing the arteries to clog again. Even though drug infused metallic stents have also been used as an alternative, it still does not lower the risks of other complications.

Biodegradable stents, on the other hand causes no such complications. It opens up the blocked arteries and dissolves itself after fulfilling its task, thus, minimizing the occurrence of any complication. It is made up of poly-l-lactide, a naturally dissolving material. It is said to dissolve in a time span of 18 months to three years. Another advantage of this stent is that it does not prevent the detection of other blockages as opposed to the metallic stents which would refract the rays of the scan, making it hard for detection.

Benefits of not having a permanent stent

One of the greatest benefits of not having a permanent stent is that it allows the lumen to expand. When a permanent metallic stent is used it does not allow the lumen to grow, thus hindering remodeling even though it allows the vessel around the stent to develop.

Another benefit is they do not produce any kind of inflammatory reactions as opposed to metallic stents.

How does a biodegradable stent work?

Arteries start getting clogged up due to the accumulation of fatty matter like chlorestol on the inner wall of the arteries that are responsible for providing blood to the heart. As it advances, it reduces the width of the lumen in return diminishing the amount of blood flowing into the heart. This is when a person undergoes a chest pain known as angina.

This disease can be arrested at the initial stage with the help of medication. But a person suffers a heart attack when the precautions are not taken, or when the artery is fully obstructed. That is when the surgical procedure of angioplasty is done. In angioplasty, a balloon is introduced into the artery through a guide wire and is inflated where the blockage is located. After this the stent is introduced so that it keeps the artery open.

The biodegradable stent releases a drug called everolimus which prevents irregular tissue growth.

Researches and studies that classify biodegradable as safe

Kunhiko Kosuga, who has a MD, PhD and is also the director of cardiology at Shiga Medical Center for Adults in Moriyana City, Japan, did a research on these new stents. He and his fellow researchers studied 44 men and 6 women who had undergone angioplasty and had used biodegradable stents to open up the affected arteries. They looked for various complications like clots, deaths, and other causes. The result is as follows:

? for the deaths associated with heart diseases, the survival rate was 98%.

? for death from all causes, the survival rate was 87%.

? there was no main cardiac problems in half the patients.

? Only four patients suffered heart attacks.

? The blood vessel involved had re-narrowed in 16% of the patients, in one year after undergoing the procedure.

? there were two clots that were found within the stent. One was due to the drug-infused stent close to the biodegradable one.

Countries who welcomed biodegradable stents

Nine European countries, Middle East, parts of Latin America and parts of Asia like India, Hong Kong, Philippines and Vietnam are already using these stents. In Europe, Asia-Pacific, Canada and Latin America, over 600 patients have taken part in the trial which aspires to have 1000 patients from over 100 centres present in these counties. Even Singapore has approved of these stents from 20th December, 2012.

However, doctors are still awaiting results for the long term effects on the patients

Even though the cost for manufacturing these stents is very expensive, doctors worldwide are optimistic that they will replace metallic stents eventually.

About The Author: Alia is a writer/blogger by profession. She loves writing, travelling and reading books. She contributes to Hydroxycut

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/entry/biodegradable-heart-stents-safe/

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2013 Annual Regenerative Medicine Industry Report

April 21st, 2013 3:12 am

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The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine announced today the release of the 2013 annual regenerative medicine industry report.  Here is the announcement in the Wall Street Journal online.

I'm proud to have been a part of putting it together and hope people find it useful.  It is available for download on the ARM website here.  


In addition to the complete download, ARM will make many of the figures, charts,  tables and sections available for members to download and use in their own publications and presentations. Watch for these resources to be announced soon.


























http://www.celltherapyblog.com hosted by http://www.celltherapygroup.com

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CellTherapyBlog/~3/yFBYKblnudk/2013-annual-regenerative-medicine.html

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California Stem Cell Agency Budget Up 4.6 Percent, Topping $17 Million

April 21st, 2013 3:12 am

During the past couple of years, the California stem cell agency has vastly improved the way it
budgets the relatively tiny amount it spends on operational expenses.

At one point a few years back, its
operational budget was often all but incoherent to the public and to
at least some members of its governing board. (See here, here and
here.) But times have changed. The process for its operational
budget, which amounts to about $17 million for the 2013-14 fiscal
year, is now more transparent and better organized.
The long overdue improvements can be
credited to the hiring of Matt Plunkett in December 2011 as its first
chief financial officer in its eight-year history, as well as the
efforts of CIRM directors Michael Goldberg and Marcy Feit. Goldberg,
a venture capitalist, is chairman of the board's Finance Subcommittee
and Feit, CEO of Valley Healthcare in Pleasanton, Ca., is vice chair. Plunkett, however,
left the agency suddenly last summer and the agency has no plans to
replace him. CIRM Chairman J.T. Thomas says Plunkett put new
financial systems in place that can be operated without a CFO.
Interested readers can get a glimpse of
what is upcoming for CIRM spending beginning in July in documents prepared for the Monday meeting of the governing board's Finance
Subcommittee meeting. The agenda, however, lacks a much-needed
explanation and justification for the spending. All that is presented
now for the public are raw numbers and a PowerPoint presentation,
which is no substitute for a nuanced, written overview.
Nonetheless, here are the basics. The
budget proposed for 2013-14 stands at $17.4 million, up 4.6 percent, according to California Stem Cell Report calculations, or $771,000 from forecast expenditures for the current year. The
budget represents the cost of overseeing $1.8 billion in grants and
loans and preparing new proposals and reviews of applications for
hundreds of millions of dollars in additional awards.
The largest budget component is for
personnel – $12.1 million, up from $10.7 million. Second largest
is outside contracting at $2 million, down from $2.9 million for the
current year, continuing a trend away from outside contracts, which
once were burgeoning.
One interesting area includes “reviews,
meetings and workshops,”- which are expected to cost $1.8 million
this year. Next year, they are budgeted for $2 million. Some might
look askance at those sorts of expenditures for “meetings.”
However, that includes the fees and expenses for scientific reviewers
for multi-day meetings in the San Francisco area, which is a high
cost area, and other large gatherings. However, the figure does not
include travel for reviewers, who come from out of the state and even
from overseas.
Examples of the meeting costs include a
three-day grant review session last September at the Claremont Hotel
in Oakland that cost $44,019. A two-day meeting at the same hotel for
the 29-member CIRM governing board cost $34,424. (These figures and others involving outside contracts can be found on the agenda of the
board's Governance Subcommittee meeting April 10.)
The agency also dissected the budget
from different perspectives on expenditures. The spending plan
includes $2.0 million for the office of Chairman Thomas and $1.6
million for the office of President Alan Trounson. Comparable
figures for actual spending this fiscal year were not provided,
however, by CIRM for the Finance Subcommittee meeting. The size of
the chairman's budget reflects the controversial dual executive nature of management at CIRM, which has come under repeated
criticism, including from the recent blue-ribbon report by the
Institute of Medicine
.. However, the arrangement is locked into state
law as the result of the ballot measure, Proposition 71, that created
the stem cell agency in 2004.
Legal expenses are budgeted at $2.2
million with public relations and communications running slightly
more than $1 million. The scientific office, as one might expect,
consumes much larger amounts, with basic research, translational
research, grants review and grants administration budgeted at $4.7
million. The development side of the scientific office, which
focuses on pre–clinical and clinical research, is slated for $3.4
million. The agency did not offer comparable figures for the current
year.
Under Proposition 71, the agency can
legally spend only 6 percent of its $3 billion in bond funding for operational
expenses. At one time the agency had a 50-person staff cap, but that
was altered several years ago by the legislature. The most recent
figures show it has 54 employees. However, this month's budget
documents did not list the number of staff for this year or next.
The stem cell agency also reported that
it expects to spend an additional $1 million a year for rent
beginning in 2015, when a free rent deal provided through the city of
San Francisco expires. The city put together a $18 million package to
attract the CIRM headquarters in a bidding war with other California
cities. The agency has never produced a public accounting of whether
it has received full value on the package.
The proposed budget is likely to be
approved by the Finance panel next week without significant changes
and then by the full board late in May.
The public can participate in the
Finance meeting at two locations in San Francisco one each in Irvine,
Pleasanton, La Jolla and Berkeley. Specific locations can be found onthe agenda.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/4WgoKJd8w08/california-stem-cell-agency-budget-up.html

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Meager California Biotech Representation in Governor’s China Trip

April 21st, 2013 3:12 am

California Gov. Jerry Brown and a flying squad of business types visited China last week, beating the drum for the Golden State in an effort to raise billions of dollars in investments.

Some 90 persons were involved in the governor's delegation, but representation was meager from California's renown biotech sector and none at all from the $3 billion California stem cell agency, which has a collaboration underway with Chinese scientists. It may have been the only state agency with a formal collaboration agreement with China prior to Brown's visit.
According to many reports, the Chinese government regards growth of its biotech industry as one of its core economic efforts. Within that sector, biomedicine ranks as the most important and fastest growing, according to an Italian Trade Commission report. Stem cell research is especially important, according to this Canadian study. Indeed, some scientists in China are eyeing a Nobel Prize in the field (See here or here.)
California would seem to be well placed to take advantage of that situation, given its substantial biotech industry and community, which is only rivaled by Massachusetts. Add to that the existence of the unique California stem cell agency, which has funded a $1.5 million study by Holger Willenbring at UC San Francisco that also involves research by Lijian Hui at the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, which is separately funded by that country to the tune of nearly $1 million.
A look at the list of those traveling to China with the governor showed two representatives who could be considered from biotech: Joe Panetta, head of BioCom, a life science industry organization in Southern California, and Michel Baudry, dean of the Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Ca..
We queried Baudry before he left for China about the situation. Here is the full text of his reply.

“I do not know how this set of delegates were selected. What I do know is that this is the first of several delegations of California business delegates going to China with Governor Brown, and that more trips are scheduled. The focus of this first trip is Energy and Environment, and this might be why there is no biotech delegates in this trip. I am quite sure that they will participate in the following trips.”

Meanwhile, the folks in Richmond on San Francisco Bay are waiting to hear about plans of a major but unnamed Chinese biotech company for the 53-acre, former Bayer Healthcare Campus.

(Following the posting of this item, Ron Leuty of the San Francisco Business Times gave us a heads up on the latest on the site. He reported in March that Joinn Laboratories, a Chinese contract research organization, purchased the site. Leuty said that its plans are vague about future development, but that it may lease some of the space.)

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/x57uSahTPNI/meager-california-biotech.html

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2013 Annual Regenerative Medicine Industry Report

April 21st, 2013 3:09 am

Tweet 


The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine announced today the release of the 2013 annual regenerative medicine industry report.  Here is the announcement in the Wall Street Journal online.

I'm proud to have been a part of putting it together and hope people find it useful.  It is available for download on the ARM website here.  


In addition to the complete download, ARM will make many of the figures, charts,  tables and sections available for members to download and use in their own publications and presentations. Watch for these resources to be announced soon.


























http://www.celltherapyblog.com hosted by http://www.celltherapygroup.com

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CellTherapyBlog/~3/yFBYKblnudk/2013-annual-regenerative-medicine.html

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California Stem Cell Agency Budget Up 4.6 Percent, Topping $17 Million

April 21st, 2013 3:09 am

During the past couple of years, the California stem cell agency has vastly improved the way it
budgets the relatively tiny amount it spends on operational expenses.

At one point a few years back, its
operational budget was often all but incoherent to the public and to
at least some members of its governing board. (See here, here and
here.) But times have changed. The process for its operational
budget, which amounts to about $17 million for the 2013-14 fiscal
year, is now more transparent and better organized.
The long overdue improvements can be
credited to the hiring of Matt Plunkett in December 2011 as its first
chief financial officer in its eight-year history, as well as the
efforts of CIRM directors Michael Goldberg and Marcy Feit. Goldberg,
a venture capitalist, is chairman of the board's Finance Subcommittee
and Feit, CEO of Valley Healthcare in Pleasanton, Ca., is vice chair. Plunkett, however,
left the agency suddenly last summer and the agency has no plans to
replace him. CIRM Chairman J.T. Thomas says Plunkett put new
financial systems in place that can be operated without a CFO.
Interested readers can get a glimpse of
what is upcoming for CIRM spending beginning in July in documents prepared for the Monday meeting of the governing board's Finance
Subcommittee meeting. The agenda, however, lacks a much-needed
explanation and justification for the spending. All that is presented
now for the public are raw numbers and a PowerPoint presentation,
which is no substitute for a nuanced, written overview.
Nonetheless, here are the basics. The
budget proposed for 2013-14 stands at $17.4 million, up 4.6 percent, according to California Stem Cell Report calculations, or $771,000 from forecast expenditures for the current year. The
budget represents the cost of overseeing $1.8 billion in grants and
loans and preparing new proposals and reviews of applications for
hundreds of millions of dollars in additional awards.
The largest budget component is for
personnel – $12.1 million, up from $10.7 million. Second largest
is outside contracting at $2 million, down from $2.9 million for the
current year, continuing a trend away from outside contracts, which
once were burgeoning.
One interesting area includes “reviews,
meetings and workshops,”- which are expected to cost $1.8 million
this year. Next year, they are budgeted for $2 million. Some might
look askance at those sorts of expenditures for “meetings.”
However, that includes the fees and expenses for scientific reviewers
for multi-day meetings in the San Francisco area, which is a high
cost area, and other large gatherings. However, the figure does not
include travel for reviewers, who come from out of the state and even
from overseas.
Examples of the meeting costs include a
three-day grant review session last September at the Claremont Hotel
in Oakland that cost $44,019. A two-day meeting at the same hotel for
the 29-member CIRM governing board cost $34,424. (These figures and others involving outside contracts can be found on the agenda of the
board's Governance Subcommittee meeting April 10.)
The agency also dissected the budget
from different perspectives on expenditures. The spending plan
includes $2.0 million for the office of Chairman Thomas and $1.6
million for the office of President Alan Trounson. Comparable
figures for actual spending this fiscal year were not provided,
however, by CIRM for the Finance Subcommittee meeting. The size of
the chairman's budget reflects the controversial dual executive nature of management at CIRM, which has come under repeated
criticism, including from the recent blue-ribbon report by the
Institute of Medicine
.. However, the arrangement is locked into state
law as the result of the ballot measure, Proposition 71, that created
the stem cell agency in 2004.
Legal expenses are budgeted at $2.2
million with public relations and communications running slightly
more than $1 million. The scientific office, as one might expect,
consumes much larger amounts, with basic research, translational
research, grants review and grants administration budgeted at $4.7
million. The development side of the scientific office, which
focuses on pre–clinical and clinical research, is slated for $3.4
million. The agency did not offer comparable figures for the current
year.
Under Proposition 71, the agency can
legally spend only 6 percent of its $3 billion in bond funding for operational
expenses. At one time the agency had a 50-person staff cap, but that
was altered several years ago by the legislature. The most recent
figures show it has 54 employees. However, this month's budget
documents did not list the number of staff for this year or next.
The stem cell agency also reported that
it expects to spend an additional $1 million a year for rent
beginning in 2015, when a free rent deal provided through the city of
San Francisco expires. The city put together a $18 million package to
attract the CIRM headquarters in a bidding war with other California
cities. The agency has never produced a public accounting of whether
it has received full value on the package.
The proposed budget is likely to be
approved by the Finance panel next week without significant changes
and then by the full board late in May.
The public can participate in the
Finance meeting at two locations in San Francisco one each in Irvine,
Pleasanton, La Jolla and Berkeley. Specific locations can be found onthe agenda.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/4WgoKJd8w08/california-stem-cell-agency-budget-up.html

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Meager California Biotech Representation in Governor’s China Trip

April 21st, 2013 3:09 am

California Gov. Jerry Brown and a flying squad of business types visited China last week, beating the drum for the Golden State in an effort to raise billions of dollars in investments.

Some 90 persons were involved in the governor's delegation, but representation was meager from California's renown biotech sector and none at all from the $3 billion California stem cell agency, which has a collaboration underway with Chinese scientists. It may have been the only state agency with a formal collaboration agreement with China prior to Brown's visit.
According to many reports, the Chinese government regards growth of its biotech industry as one of its core economic efforts. Within that sector, biomedicine ranks as the most important and fastest growing, according to an Italian Trade Commission report. Stem cell research is especially important, according to this Canadian study. Indeed, some scientists in China are eyeing a Nobel Prize in the field (See here or here.)
California would seem to be well placed to take advantage of that situation, given its substantial biotech industry and community, which is only rivaled by Massachusetts. Add to that the existence of the unique California stem cell agency, which has funded a $1.5 million study by Holger Willenbring at UC San Francisco that also involves research by Lijian Hui at the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, which is separately funded by that country to the tune of nearly $1 million.
A look at the list of those traveling to China with the governor showed two representatives who could be considered from biotech: Joe Panetta, head of BioCom, a life science industry organization in Southern California, and Michel Baudry, dean of the Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Ca..
We queried Baudry before he left for China about the situation. Here is the full text of his reply.

“I do not know how this set of delegates were selected. What I do know is that this is the first of several delegations of California business delegates going to China with Governor Brown, and that more trips are scheduled. The focus of this first trip is Energy and Environment, and this might be why there is no biotech delegates in this trip. I am quite sure that they will participate in the following trips.”

Meanwhile, the folks in Richmond on San Francisco Bay are waiting to hear about plans of a major but unnamed Chinese biotech company for the 53-acre, former Bayer Healthcare Campus.

(Following the posting of this item, Ron Leuty of the San Francisco Business Times gave us a heads up on the latest on the site. He reported in March that Joinn Laboratories, a Chinese contract research organization, purchased the site. Leuty said that its plans are vague about future development, but that it may lease some of the space.)

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/x57uSahTPNI/meager-california-biotech.html

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Maceda attributes stamina to stem cell therapy, malunggay pills

April 20th, 2013 12:41 pm

By Christian V. Esguerra Philippine Daily Inquirer

Former Senator Ernesto Maceda. FILE PHOTO

AGOO, La Union, PhilippinesThanks to the wonders of science, the oldest candidate in the May 13 senatorial election has managed to keep up with the grueling campaign.

So far, 78-year-old former Senate President Ernesto Maceda said Friday, he has not gotten sick despite a tough campaign schedule that usually requires him to travel from one province to anotherall thanks to the stem cell therapy he got for P600,000 at a medical facility in Germany in March last year.

I am now convinced that my stem cell therapy is effective and thats the reason why Ive been able to keep up with the rigorous campaign schedule, he told reporters before climbing the campaign stage at the Eriguel compound.

Maceda said the therapy was relatively cheap, noting that it would have cost him around P2.5 million if he had it in the Philippines. And it was worth it, he said.

I feel 20 years younger, he said.

Maceda joined a growing list of aging politicians who have resorted to stem cell therapy. They include Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, 89, and former President Joseph Estrada, who celebrated his 76th birthday Friday.

Responding to a question by a TV reporter, Vice President Jejomar Binay said he does not need it yet.

The UNA campaign schedule is no walk in the park.

The rest is here:
Maceda attributes stamina to stem cell therapy, malunggay pills

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