California’s stem cell research agency has said it intends to bring stem cell based treatments and therapies to fruition faster.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) launched what it calls its CIRM 2.0 initiative on 23 October. The institute said it would spend $24 million on building three clinics and promised a 120-day turnaround for clinical-trial funding.
According to C Randal Mills, president and chief executive of CIRM, the changed funding process will reduce the time from application to full funding from as long as 2 years to just 4 months. Initially the process will only be available to research projects ready to begin clinical trials, he said, but it will eventually be open to all applicants.