What a disaster the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has been. Management incompetence, fat executive raises in spite of the incompetence, conflict of interest charges sparking an official investigation, the list goes on and on. And now, it appears the CIRM tried to take credit that it did not deserve for funding research that made it to human trials. From the story:
California’s stem cell agency overstated and hyped the importance of its funding in enabling clinical trials for a drug to treat a severe blood disorder, Consumer Watchdog said today, seriously undercutting the agency’s credibility and alienating those who support publicly funded stem cell research. Last week the California Institute For Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) issued a news release titled “First Clinical Trial Begins for a Therapy Enabled By CIRM Funding.” The announcement even drew a comment from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who issued a release saying CIRM funding led to the discovery. He added, “I am proud of our state’s commitment to stem cell research, which delivers the best promise in finding treatments for deadly and debilitating diseases.”...So the CIRM grant was issued less than one month before the paper was submitted, it didn’t involve the same area of research as the subject of the grant, and yet CIRM tried to take credit anyway.
The initial CIRM news release about the clinical trial said that Jamieson was funded by a stem cell SEED grant that was approved in February 2007. That grant was given to fund the derivation of cancer-causing stem cells from human embryonic stem cells. The research that led to the clinical trial did not involve human embryonic stem cells at all.
Moreover, according to the official notice of grant award, the time period for the CIRM funded grant of $613,305 was from Aug. 1, 2007- July 31, 2009. The university officially signed off on the grant on Aug. 31, 2007. The paper outlining the research findings was submitted to “Cancer Cell” on Sept. 19, 2007.
Is anyone surprised? No. Will someone—anyone—pull the plug on this profligate travesty? Alas, no.
