CIRM announced recently the funding of a number of exciting new studies.
ViaCyte received additional funding to support its development of its hESC-based pancreatic progenitor cell product PEC-Direct clinic trials. This work is very promising. CIRM also funded additional diabetes-related research by Humacyte on engineering blood vessels for use in dialysis, which is very creative.
I was happy to see that my colleague here at UC Davis School of Medicine, Professor David Segal, received funding for a cutting edge grant on using gene editing for Angolan Syndrome. The grant is entitled, “MSC delivery of an artificial transcription factor to the brain as a treatment for Angelman Syndrome”.
This funding along with a new grant for Jeanne Loring on stem cells for Parkinson’s came via CIRM’s new basic biology type of funding mechanism. A number of other cool projects got funded via this RFA including one by David Schaeffer at Berkeley on stem cell-produced oligodendrocyte precursor cells to treat neurological injury.
This all is very good news for the stem cell field.
Another significant news is that scientists from the City university of New York found the metabolites that can control the differentiation of stem cells.
The comments by Paul Laikind, the CEO of ViaCyte, Inc. on the $4 million award from CIRM and ViaCyte’s VC-01 and VC-02 (PEC-Direct) makes my wondering if VC-01 is not as efficient as we expected.
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2016/07/text-of-viacytes-statement-on-its-new.html
Wht is CIRM funding non-stem cell-related medical devices? Are they in the corporate welfare business now?
Why