CIRM 2.0: New urgency for therapeutic development

Ten years after California voters passed Proposition 71 on the promise that stem cell technology would produce new therapies, the board of the the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) last week unanimously approved $50 million for "CIRM 2.0" to accelerate the progress of clinical-stage programs.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2015, CIRM 2.0 initially will distribute awards to projects ready to start a clinical trial or for researchers who are doing the work required by the FDA to begin a clinical study. Grantee projects must be ready to start within 45 days of being approved for funding. ...