A look back at the last year but with our eyes firmly on the future

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Randy
CIRM President & CEO Randy Mills doesn’t want “good”, he wants “better”

Better.

With one word, “Better,” President and CEO Randy Mills opens and closes his letter in our 2015 Annual Report, capturing the principle that guides CIRM’s work.

But better what?

Improve infrastructure to turn early‑stage ideas into clinical trials. Better regulatory practices to move promising stem cell treatments forward faster. Better treatments for patients who need them.

We set a high standard for ourselves as we work to speed stem cell treatments for patients with unmet medical needs.

Annual Report

The 2015 Annual Report highlights last year’s achievements, including $135 million invested in 47 research projects. Our Board unanimously approved a new Strategic Plan with ambitious five‑year goals, from funding 50 new clinical trials to creating a new regulatory pathway for stem cell therapies.

Snapshot of CIRM's 2015 Funding

The report provides a snapshot of how we spent our funds this year and how much remains. It breaks down the percentage of funding allocated to different diseases and outlines administrative spending.

Jonathan Thomas, Chair of our Board, reflects on where we started 10 years ago. A decade ago, CIRM made 16 awards totaling $12.5 million. We’ve come a long way since then.

Looking forward

But we still have a long way to go, and we’re determined to keep improving.

We’re also changing how we produce our Annual Report. The next report will be released on January 1, 2017, so you can review the previous year’s progress as soon as the new one begins. See what we achieved and where we’re headed. Keep an eye out.

3 thoughts on “A look back at the last year but with our eyes firmly on the future”

  1. Since lung regeneration is so complex, could you get more people on it? Like cancer and heart (and probably many others, huh?), COPD is a fatal illness and will claim the lives of upwards to one million (globally) every year. Please pressure the FDA, for all conditions, to realize that only death is ahead, to let you open up clinical studies. These victims have NOTHING to lose!

    Reply

    • Dear Lynn, we certainly intend to work with the FDA to try and find a way to speed up the development of and access to the most promising stem cell treatments for a wide variety of life-threatening conditions, including COPD.
      Kevin

      Reply

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