It took us longer than it should have to pay a visit to California’s Inland Empire, but CIRM’s took to the road visiting UC Riverside (UCR) to discuss funding and the progress being made in stem cell research.
As always when we go on the road, we learn so much and are so impressed by everyone’s passion and commitment to stem cell research and their belief that it’s changing the face of medicine as we know it.
Dr. Deborah Deas, the Dean of the UC Riverside School of Medicine and a CIRM Board member, kicked off the proceedings by saying:
“Since CIRM was created in 2004 the agency has been committed to providing the technology and research to meet the unmet needs of the people of California.
Alpha Clinics
On the Board I have been impressed by the sheer range and number of diseases targeted by the research CIRM is funding. We in the Inland Empire are playing our part. With CIRM’s help we have developed a strong program that is doing some exciting work in discovery, education and translational research.”
CIRM’s President and CEO, Dr. Maria T. Millan, and our Board Chair, Jonathan Thomas then gave a quick potted history of CIRM and the projects we are funding. They highlighted how we are creating a pipeline of products from the Discovery, or basic level of research, through to the 45 clinical trials we are funding.
They also talked about the Alpha Clinic Network, based at six highly specialized medical centers around California, that are delivering stem cell therapies and sharing the experiences and knowledge learned from these trials to improve their ability to help patients and advance the field.
More on UC Riverside’s Work
Researchers from both UCR then gave a series of brief snapshots of the innovative work they are doing:
- Looking at new, more efficient and effective ways of expanding the number of human embryonic stem cells in the laboratory to create the high volume of cells needed for therapies.
- Using biodegradable materials to help repair and regenerate tissue for things as varied as bone and cartilage repair or nerve restoration.
- Exploring the use of epigenetic factors, things that switch genes on and off, to try and find ways to make repairs inside the body, rather than taking the cells outside the body, re-engineering them and returning them to the body. In essence, using the body as its own lab to manufacture replacement.
City of Hope
Another CIRM Board member, Linda Malkas, talked about the research being done at City of Hope (COH), where she is the associate chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, calling it an “engine for discovery that has created the infrastructure and attracted people with an amazing set of skills to bring forward new therapeutics for patients.”
She noted that City of Hope hosts one of the first CIRM‑funded Alpha Clinics and now has 27 active clinical trials, with seven more pending and 11 in the pipeline.
“In my opinion, this is one of the crown jewels of the CIRM program. CIRM is leading the nation in showing how to build a network of specialized clinics to deliver these therapies. The National Institutes of Health came to CIRM to learn from them and discuss how to move promising ideas and trials forward more quickly and efficiently.”
Dr. Malkas also highlighted the partnership between City of Hope and UC Riverside, where teams are collaborating on 19 projects and combining expertise to advance this research.
Progress on CAR-T
Christine Brown, PhD, then described her work using CAR T cells to target cancer stem cells. In this CIRM‑funded clinical trial, she aims to re‑engineer a patient’s T cells to recognize a protein on brain cancer stem cells and destroy the tumors.
The event drew a full crowd, with an overflow audience watching on monitors outside the auditorium. Questions afterward focused not only on current research but also on future needs.
One patient‑advocate couple asked about clinics offering stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease and whether the treatments were worth more than $10,000.
Dr. Millan urged people to avoid any therapy not approved by the FDA or offered through an FDA‑sanctioned clinical trial. She explained that while these unproven clinics once operated mostly outside the U.S., many are now opening domestically.
She added that patients should ask many questions before joining a clinical trial, which you can find listed here.
The visit underscored that exciting stem cell research is happening throughout California—and that the Inland Empire is a key contributor, working on projects that could one day transform or even save lives.
Why is all the research based in California and now that two people have regainyed their eyesight after stem cell therapy and safety was determined, why can we not pay for the treatment?
Thank you
Dee
Hi Dee, thanks for the questions. The research is based in California because the funding comes from the people of California. One of the conditions laid out in Proposition 71, the ballot initiative that created CIRM in 2004, was that the money be spent here in California.
As for the reason why you cannot yet just pay for the treatment, it’s because the treatment is still experimental. We are supporting the clinical trials to make sure it is both safe and effective and won’t endanger people or make their vision worse. We have seen some encouraging early results but we need to make sure that those were real and not just a matter of luck or chance. If the therapies continue to show they are safe and effective then at some point in the, hopefully, not too distant future the companies behind them will be able to apply to the Food and Drug Administration for permission to market them to a wider audience. However, right now we have no idea when that might be.