Voice of Regenerative Medicine (VORM). CIRM RFA Lacks The Objectives of Prop 71 and Uses Unlawful Eligibility Criteria to Exclude the Regenerative Medicine Workforce and Expertise

Voice of Regenerative Medicine (VORM). CIRM RFA 12-01 (new faculty physician scientist translational research awards) lacks the objectives of California Stem Cell Research & Cure Bond Act (Prop71) and CIRM board uses unlawful eligibility criteria to exclude the regenerative medicine workforce and expertise.

Human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research and therapy is an emerging biotechnology/therapeutic sector in Regenerative Medicine that are made possible by California Stem Cell Research & Cure Bond Act (Prop71) to develop the next generation of cell based therapeutic solutions for major health problems that so far have no cure. The driving force, technology, innovation, and expertise of hESC-based regenerative medicine reside in biotechnology/therapeutic sector of stem cell research and development, not in medical schools of CIRM ICOC board members. None of the Nation’s top Medical Schools exclude faculty with only PhD degree, the major and elite research workforce. However, the unlawful eligibility criteria in CIRM RFA 12-01 determined by CIRM board members exclude the regenerative medicine workforce and expertise, violating ethical standards and the United States antitrust law. Such deliberately exclusionary RFA issued by CIRM only serves the conflicts of interest of CIRM ICOC board members and consolidates the large institutes/businesses’ control over the regenerative medicine industry, hurting new technology development of the emerging industry of regenerative medicine and millions of patients in urgent need of such stem cell therapy made possible by Prop71. VORM strongly opposes such exclusionary RFA and urges CIRM to issue equivalent RFA to support the entrepreneurs and workforce of regenerative medicine industry in order to develop better and more affordable human embryonic stem cell therapies intended by CA law Prop71 for patients suffering from incurable diseases.

Launching California Consortium for Regenerative Medicine Start-Up (CCRMS) and Voice of Regenerative Medicine (VORM).

San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute and Xcelthera announce founding of California Consortium for Regenerative Medicine Start-Up (CCRMS) and launching of the Voice of Regenerative Medicine (VORM). 

Human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research/therapy and regenerative medicine hold great promise for treating world-wide major human diseases that have been challenging for traditional medicine, such as neurodegenerative diseases, paralysis, diabetes, and heart diseases, representing hope to millions of people suffering from incurable diseases. It will have a transformative impact in a broad area of biomedical sciences to develop groundbreaking hESC technology platforms and innovative regenerative medicine approaches to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness. 8 years ago, California made historical landmark by passing Proposition71 (Prop71) to support human embryonic stem cell research and cure development, crucial to driving the advance of medicine to provide optimal regeneration and reconstruction treatment options for many incurable diseases. However, what was revealed in the most recent IOM Committee on a Review of the CIRM meeting is shocking. CIRM (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) has diverted billions of dollars in Prop71 earmarked for stem cell research & therapy development to benefit large institutions/businesses of CIRM board members. Less than $40M out of $1.3 B Prop71 funding earmarked for California Stem Cell Research and Cure Bond Act has gone into regenerative medicine industry and stem cell therapy development. Even more shocking, CIRM has doled out $ZERO of Prop71 funding to regenerative medicine industry to develop Prop71 intended better and more affordable human embryonic stem cell therapies for patients suffering incurable diseases. Despite $3B support/incentives from California Prop71 in order to make the most promising hESC therapy available to patients, regenerative medicine start-ups have been facing a tough time to secure funding earmarked for their most forefront stem cell technologies & therapy development. Better stem cell therapy & treatments for patients have been blocked by CIRM non-transparent grant review processes and conflicts of interest RFAs/Awards. The growth of regenerative medicine start-ups, representing the crucial mission of Prop71 and hope to millions of people suffering from incurable diseases, have fallen into the victim of bully & conflicts of interest of big institutions & large businesses. CIRM’s RFAs & Awards have shut out regenerative medicine start-ups and made it very difficult for new promising stem cell therapies of Prop71 to enter the therapeutic market. California Consortium for Regenerative Medicine Start-Up (CCRMS) is founded to represent a unified voice for Regenerative Medicine Start-Ups, to support California Stem Cell Research & Cure Bond Act (Prop71), to support President Obama’s executive order to relax Federal Policy for human embryonic stem cell research, to advocate Federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, to advocate better legislation and policy for human embryonic stem cell research and stem cell therapy development, to advocate incentives for Regenerative Medicine Start-Ups, to promote objectives of Prop71 and better dialogues with CIRM, to advocate better stem cell therapy and treatment options that are made available for patients by CA Prop71, to advocate our tax dollars be better used to develop stem cell therapy and improve the quality of life, to advocate anti-trust and fair competition business development for Regenerative Medicine Start-Ups, to demand CIRM follow the scientific merits and contracting law of Prop71 to give funding from California Stem Cell Research & Cure Bond Act to the most promising and forefront human embryonic stem cell research & therapy development, to demand CIRM to give funding from California Stem Cell Research & Cure Bond Act to Regenerative Medicine Start-Ups in order to develop stem cell therapy that are made available by CA Prop71 for patients suffering from incurable diseases, to urge CIRM stop abusing legislation and diverting billions of dollars in Prop71 away from stem cell research & therapy development, and to facilitate the growth of Regenerative Medicine Start-Ups.

Testimony at IOM Committee on A Review of the CIRM

San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute releases Dr. Parsons’ testimony at Institute of Medicine Committee on a Review of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and statement to urge CIRM to use California Stem Cell Research & Cure Bond Act (Proposition71) to Fund human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research & novel stem cell therapy development of Prop71, to support hESC research leaders and stem cell research leadership activity of Prop71, to have transparent grant review and funding process, such as eliminate the biased and non-transparent pre-application, allow applicants formal appeal for pre-application, give applicants the opportunity to speak/talk about their proposals in open public meetings;

Urge California State Officials to nominate hESC research advocates and hESC therapy start-ups representatives to the ICOC board to represent the interest of Prop71;

Urge CIRM to use Prop71 funding to jumpstart hESC therapy start-ups of Prop71; urge CIRM to stop issuing conflict-of-interest RFAs to shut out stem cell research of Prop71 and hurt public’s interests, to stop using non-transparent biased grant review behind the close door to block stem cell research & therapy development of Prop71.

See Dr. Parsons’ testimony and watch the scientific merits of Prop71 in motion at SDRMI wordpress. 

CIRM’s iPS Cell Initiative --- The Cloning Saga of ISSCR

The scientific term for cloning is reprogramming of somatic cells. The induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), more accurately known as induced pluripotent somatic cells or artificially reprogrammed adult cells, have been sold by their publicity stunts as the biggest breakthrough for stem cell research. However, iPS cells are actually an alternative for cloning, not for stem cell research. The idea of reprogramming is almost as ancient as cloning. And the flaws of cloning have also been revealed by mounting scientific evidences to prevent it from being tried in humans. Just like the Korean cloning scam in Science, the iPS cells would have never made to the front pages of those top scientific journals if it was not backed by those highly influential well-connected big names of ISSCR (International Society for Stem Cell Research). When President Obama signed the Executive Order to relax Federal policy on human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, those hard core cloners also had the President include iPS cells in the bill with more aggressive hidden agenda to remove the barriers for human cloning. To implement it, NIH (National Institutes of Health) has subsequently formed iPS center headed by Mahendra Rao.

Although the booming of molecular biology in past twenty years has not yielded a single cure for cancer, the cause of cancer or cancerogenesis has been well studied and understood. The process of cancer or cancerogenesis is also reprogramming of somatic cells, by abnormally turning on those genes normally only active in embryonic cells. The truth is that the iPS cells were made with the same mechanism of cancerogenesis, probably the biggest stem cell scam ever pulled off by ISSCR. At one Scripps meeting, Hans Schöler, after easily got his iPS cell papers published in well-publicized Cell & Nature, said “this (iPS cells) is so easy”. Hello Sir, of course it was easy, you were making cancer/disease, not curing cancer/disease. Hans Schöler then showed the even more severe abnormity of iPS cells than that of cloned cells, causing 100% premature death.

Although Prop71 prohibits cloning, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) RFAs & awards’ strong emphasis on iPS cells/cloning, in contrast to no emphasis on hESC research & therapy of the law whatsoever, has been undeniable. Their upcoming initiative to only bank the abnormal iPS cells but not the normal & much more potential hESCs of the law Prop71 is just one example, despite piled papers on that iPS cells are abnormal, aging fast, low efficiency, severe immune-rejection after transplantation, useless & dangerous for therapy. Why would CIRM throw CA stem cell bond money exclusively into the iPS cells that are even more defective and worse than cloning? Such heavy trend of CIRM towards cloning can only be explained if you know that CIRM president Alan Trounson’ real background is cloning, not stem cell research. Internationally famous stem cell celebrity Alan Trounson’ connections with International Stem Cell Corp (ISCO) and Stem Cell Center Director Martin Pera of USC have been well known. ISCO is a company unofficially founded by Alan Trounson, after CA passed Prop71, to use unfertilized eggs for human cloning, not the embryos for deriving hESCs. CIRM’s cloning trend has not been without implementations among CIRM ICOC institutions. My mentor Evan Snyder used to complain that “nobody wants to do it (iPS cells).” Eventually, they picked Leanne Jones of Salk, a fruitfly cell biologist from Stanford University, and Kristin Baldwin of Scripps, Rudy Jaenisch’s cloning protégée, for the iPS cell awards. Please note, it had been decided before their grants were even submitted to CIRM. No one could get mesenschymal cells to have any stem/progenitor cell activity, how come 5 mesenschymal cell awards got on CIRM disease teams and went to the same UC in the same awards round?  Go figure, who receive the awards have apparently already been pre-picked by CIRM. CIRM has also implemented non-transparent pre-application process NOT in the law to keep it only behind the close door. All the award process required by the law Prop71 has never been anything more than a symbolic gesture of CIRM, like the allowed 5 min’s public comment and usually no show of public in ICOC meetings.