For our last blog before the Thanksgiving holiday, we give thanks to the patients and their caregivers who are forging a path toward a new era of regenerative medicine therapies through their participation in CIRM-funded clinical trials.

Some of our trials are in the early stages which means they are mainly focused on safety. Participants go into these trials knowing that the cell therapy dose they receive will probably be too low to get any benefit for themselves. And in later trials, some patients will receive a placebo, or blank therapy, for comparison purposes. Even if a patient gets an effective dose, it may not work for them. So the decision to enroll in an experimental clinical trial is often a selfless act. Yet final approval of a therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (and other regulatory agencies around the world) depends on these brave souls and for that we are truly grateful.

So, with this Thanksgiving Day spirit in mind, we leave you with our latest video featuring Caleb Sizemore, a charming young man who epitomizes the courage of our clinical trial pioneers. At just 7 years old, Caleb was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a degenerative muscle disease which makes it difficult for him to walk and climb stairs, has led to dangerous scarring of his heart muscle and carries a shortened life expectancy with most DMD patients not living past their 20s or 30s.

In a sit-down interview with us and in clips from his June 2017 presentation to the CIRM governing Board, Caleb talked about the impact of DMD on his life and his experience enrolling in Capricor Therapeutics’ CIRM-funded clinical trial. The trial is testing a stem cell therapy designed to repair the heart scarring that occurs with DMD. By the end of the three-minute video, I can assure you that you’ll be as captivated as we were by Caleb’s delightful, sincere and full-of-faith personality.