A Medical Device Daily

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford, California) were awarded six grants last week worth more than $15 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM; San Francisco), the agency created to fund embryonic stem cell research. With the addition of embryonic stem cell researcher Renee Rejo Pera, PhD, who will move to Stanford from UC-San Francisco in April, brings Stanford's total to seven grants worth more than $17 million.

Stanford's grants of roughly $2.5 million each were part of the 29 grants given to 12 nonprofit institutions by CIRM's oversight committee. Some of the grant money will be disbursed as early as April 1.

The grants reported last week are the second of three types of grants to be awarded this year, and were given to experienced stem cell researchers continuing established programs. The first round, reported last month, were given to new scientists in embryonic stem cell research or to veteran scientists establishing new stem cell research programs (Medical Device Daily, Feb. 21, 2007).

In June, CIRM plans to award funding for new facilities where researchers can work with stem cell lines not approved for funding with federal dollars. Research involving human embryonic stem cells created after August 2001 can't receive federal funding and can't take place in facilities that were either built or equipped with federal dollars. The CIRM grants will help institutions provide space for researchers working with these newer stem cell lines.

With the 12 CIRM grants given to Stanford researchers last month, the university said it has now received 19 grants and nearly $26 million — more total CIRM funding than any other single institution.

"We are gratified that our long commitment and the few new recruits we have made have passed the bar of excellence," said Irving Weissman, MD, director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. "Now we need to move the science of stem cells to advancing medicine and medical science for the eventual benefit of patients."

This round of grants will fund efforts by Stanford researchers to create new lines of human embryonic stem cells and to derive different cell types from both new and existing cell lines, the university said. One grant proposes to isolate heart and blood stem cells from embryonic stem cells while other grants focus on generating inner ear cells, nerve cells or cells for cardiovascular tissue grafts.

This focus on creating new stem cell lines and learning how to direct the cells' development is part of CIRM's 10-year plan to translate basic research into cures. The first step of that plan is to generate the types of cells and tissues that can be used to better understand and treat diseases.

CIRM was established in 2004 when California voters approved Proposition 71, enabling the state to sell bonds that would generate $3 billion over 10 years to fund stem cell research. Those funds have been held up by legal battles with critics. CIRM was still able to award smaller grants to fund training programs last year by selling bond anticipatory notes to six philanthropic agencies. Stanford was one of 16 institutions to receive a training grant in that round of funding.

President Bush vetoed a bill last November that would have allowed federal funding for the creation of new human embryonic stem cell lines from donated embryos left over from in vitro fertilization procedures. The next day, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger authorized a $150 million loan to CIRM that has been used to support grants until the agency can resolve its legal battles and sell bonds.

Weissman said CIRM's efforts to find sources of funding for stem cell research, even while the institute was held up in legal battles, has allowed the field to move forward in California in a way that hasn't been possible in the rest of the country.

In contracts news: Herley Industries (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) reported that its facility in Lancaster has been awarded more than $1.1 million in medical amplifier contracts so far this month. The Herley Lancaster division along with its military base business produces high power amplifiers for the medical equipment industry.

"Herley's amplifier products are well positioned to support the high growth medical imaging and oncology markets. We have seen consistent growth in this area and continue to enhance our products and performance," said John Kelley, president of Herley Industries.

Herley Industries develops microwave technology solutions for the defense, aerospace and medical industries worldwide.