The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has issued a plan for spending $3 billion on stem cell research over the next ten years. The Institute's leaders are forewarning that it will take time to make significant progress and maintain that $3 billion is not enough to fully fund a stem cell therapy and bring it to market.
The plan, which outlines what research the state will fund and how, proposes a breakdown of the money to be spent on a multitude of research areas. $823 million will be spent on basic stem cell research, $899 million on applied or pre-clinical research and $656 million on taking new treatments through clinical trials. The plan requires that money is directed towards specific goals, such as investigating better methods of generating specific types of stem cell lines, or using stem cells to create copies of tissues and organs that can be used to test new therapies for various diseases. It proposes to fund the study of human eggand embryo development and tissue engineering, and also outlines plans to create a state-wide stem cell bank and other facilities that scientists can share. The plans will be presented for approval to the Institute's board next week.
The committee which came up with the proposals is acutely aware of the time and money it takes to bring a new product to market. John M Simpson, stem cell project director for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights said 'This plan acknowledges just how difficult the task ahead is and is a welcome change from the hype which has all too often been associated with stem cell research'. Their more realistic goal will be to try to achieve 'proof-of-principle' in the form of mid-stage clinical trial results for one disease which demonstrate that a stem cell based therapy can help restore function. This would then provide incentive for a drug company to finance the expensive multi-year trials necessary to bring a therapy into clinical use. It is also hoped that as many as four other disease treatments may be in the early stages of clinical trials by the end of ten years.
Sources and References
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Plans Unveiled for State-Financed Stem Cell Work in California
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Candid forecast on stem cell research hopes
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State unveils $3 billion stem cell research plan
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