Poll says CIRM initiatives advance stem cell science

According to a poll held by Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, 63.1% of respondents said that CIRM initiatives had been either very helpful or somewhat helpful in advancing stem cell science.

We couldn’t agree more. And for those 22.6% who said that CIRM was not very helpful, we encourage them to visit our website for more information. Those 1,000+ papers published by our grantees have pushed the field forward in basic stem cell biology, including devising new ways of reprogramming adult cells to embryonic-like iPS cells or converting them directly into other cell types. The work described in those papers could dramatically change the way scientists study disease and search for new drugs.

The basic advances lay the groundwork for disease-focused research, which we’ve also boosted. We now have 43 groups of researchers working toward stem cell-based therapies in 26 different diseases. Our website has a list of those projects and information about the process of funding new therapies. People who have those diseases, or who are caring for a loved ones, would probably argue that those 43 projects are clear advances.

In their story about the poll, GEN writes:

More than $1.3 billion has been doled out by CIRM, most of it to academic institutions, followed by research institutes, with businesses seeing a relatively small share. The agency has taken steps toward more industry participation. Clinical trial support is one of four goals CIRM has set for its strategic plan covering the next five years.

In the past year CIRM has ramped up our efforts to engage with the biotechnology industry. My colleague Cynthia Schaffer recently blogged about those efforts. We’re hoping to see industry groups applying for our opportunity funds, which will be posted to our website in April. If you don’t already receive alerts when CIRM posts new RFAs, sign up to receive those announcements by email.

A.A.