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

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

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.

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Public Interest

The successful derivation of human embryonic stem cell (human ES cell) lines from the in vitro fertilization (IVF) leftover embryos is considered as one of the major breakthroughs of the life sciences. The pluripotent human ES cells, derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) or epiblast of human blastocyst or human embryos, have both the unconstrained capacity for long-term stable undifferentiated growth in culture and the intrinsic potential for differentiation into all somatic cell types in the human body, holding tremendous potential for human tissue and function restoration. Therefore, human ES cells have been regarded as an ideal source to provide an unlimited supply of large-scale well-characterized human specialized cell types for cell-based therapies to resolve some worldwide major health problems, such as neurodegenerative diseases, paralysis, diabetes, and heart diseases. A small portion of the millions of excess embryos currently stored in the IVF clinics worldwide, which are otherwise destined for destruction, could potentially be an unlimited source to deliver in the future a whole range of therapeutic treatments for tissue and function restoration in patients with life-threatening diseases and injuries. However, human ES cell research has generated intense public interest as well as controversy due to concerns of products of human ES cell cultures that can only be obtained by the use, involving their destruction, of human embryos. The recent years’ court battles on Federal funding for human ES cell research in the United State (US) as well as the patentability of US and international patents directed to human ES cell technologies have also highlighted the decade long ethical, moral, social, and legal controversy surrounding the public interest of human ES cells involving destruction, commercial or industrial uses of human embryos. As neurodegenerative and heart diseases incur exorbitant costs on the healthcare system worldwide, there is a strong focus on providing newer and more efficient solutions for these therapeutic needs. Millions of people are pinning their hopes on human ES cell research. California voters have passed Proposition 71 to designate $3B public fund to support pluripotent human ES cell research and therapy development for the benefit of public health. In spite of ethical debates surrounding the ownership and funding issues of human ES cells, in the case of many incurable or hitherto untreatable life-threatening or devastating diseases, supporting human ES cell research is crucial to driving the advance of medicine to provide optimal regeneration and reconstruction treatment options to improve the function, wellness, and overall quality of life. To answer the intense public interest surrounding human ES cell research and enormous public healthcare benefits thereof, Voice of Regenerative Medicine provides a ground of public debate or voice or blog for the controversies surrounding public interest of human ES cells centering on scientific, economic, ethical, moral, social, financial conflict of interest, and legal issues, to increase public awareness and understanding of the scientific advancement of human ES cell research, and of the importance, urgency, and tangible benefits of human ES cell-based regenerative medicine to improving the function, wellness, and overall quality of life for patients suffering from incurable or hitherto untreatable life-threatening or devastating diseases; to increase public support for human ES cell research; to improve policy making and funding situation for human ES cell research, and to identify and disclose publicly those scientific, economic, ethical, moral, social, financial conflict of interest, and legal issues that have impeded the progress of human ES cell research and stem cell therapy development, introduction of medical innovations and new business opportunities based on human ES cell research, and bringing new therapeutics into the market.

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