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Category Archives: Stem Cells

Compensation for Human Eggs Approved by Key California Senate Committee, But Not For CIRM Researchers

Legislation that would permit women in
California to be paid for their eggs for scientific research
yesterday cleared a key state Senate committee and is likely headed
for the governor's desk.
The measure by Assemblywoman Susan
Bonilla, D-Concord, was approved on a 6-1 vote by the Senate Health
Committee and now goes to the Senate floor. Earlier, it passed the
Assembly on a 54-20 vote.
Some stem cell researchers and other
scientists have chafed under state restrictions that bar compensation
for eggs while that the same time fertility clinics are paying an average of $9,000 a session for eggs, with some prices going as high as $50,000.
However, the legislation will not
affect researchers using grants from the $3 billion California stem
cell agency. The agency's regulations bar compensation for eggs in
the research that it funds. That means that at least a two-tiered
research system would exist in California not to mention another tier
created by federal regulations that differ from both those of the
stem cell agency and those set by the legislation.
CIRM's restrictions are required by
Proposition 71, which created the agency in 2004, and cannot be
changed without a 70 percent vote of the legislature. Bonilla's bill
requires only a majority vote.
Bonilla's legislation is sponsored by
American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the chief industry
group for the largely unregulated fertility industry.
The analysis prepared for yesterday's
committee session summarized Bonilla's arguments for the measure in
this fashion:

“This bill seeks to create equity in
the field of medical research compensation by removing the
prohibition on compensation for women participating in oocyte (egg)
donation for medical research. All other research subjects are
compensated for their time, trouble, and inconvenience involved in
participating in research. AB 926 ensures that women are treated
equally to all other research subjects - allowing them to actively
evaluate their participation in research studies. Unfortunately, the
ban on compensation has had serious unintended consequences. It has
led to a de facto prohibition on women’s reproductive research in
California, adversely impacting the same women that the ban intended
to protect. With few oocytes donated, fertility research and
fertility preservation research has been at a standstill. This
greatly affects women suffering from fertility issues and women
facing cancer who would like to preserve their oocytes.”

A number of organizations are opposed
to the bill including the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley
and the Catholic Church. The bill analysis summarized some of the
opposition arguments in this fashion:

“Egg harvesting exposes healthy young
women to multiple synthetic hormones in order to produce many times
the normal number of eggs per cycle. One of the potential harms is
OHSS, which has resulted in hospitalizations and at least a few
documented deaths. These groups state that many experts remain
concerned about the long-term risks of these drugs, especially
their potential impact on infertility and various cancers.
Follow-up research on egg providers, which could establish the
frequency and severity of these adverse outcomes, is widely
recognized to be grossly inadequate.”

In addition to risk and religious
objections, opponents also argue that poor and minority women are
likely to be exploited by enterprises seeking their eggs to resell at
a profit.
No major stem cell research
organizations, including the California stem cell agency, have taken
a position on the bill. The legislation has received little public
attention, although The Sacramento Bee carried an article last March.
Ruha Benjamin, author of "People's Science" and assistant professor at Boston
University, also wrote about the measure in April on the Huffington
Post. Benjamin said,
“UC Berkeley professor Charis
Thompson compares egg
donation to 'other kinds of physically demanding service work,'
arguing for a 'salary negotiation between the state agency (or
relevant employer) and the donor.' This, she contends, is a 'sensible
and dignified recognition of [the donor's] work, time, and effort.'
And instead of refusing compensation to women, Thompson suggests that
we 'direct our efforts to understanding and minimizing' the risks.
“Indeed. Now more than ever, we must
redouble our efforts, because the market in eggs appears to be
expanding from private reproduction to public research, and
increasingly overseas, if the surrogacy
industry is any indication of how 'cheaper' women become a
reserve army of bio-labor in less regulated regions.” 

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/SVuriAz87l0/compensation-for-human-eggs-approved-by.html

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Merksamer Makes Only Bid For Stem Cell Agency Lobbying Contract

Only one of California's lobbying firms
is interested in working for the California stem cell agency – at
least interested enough to put in a bid.
However, that is likely more of a
function of the small size of the contract – $65,000 – and the
entrenched nature of CIRM's existing lobbyist – Nielsen, Merksamer,
Parrinello, Gross & Leoni LLP – one of the state Capitol's
larger lobbying firms with $5 million in billings last year.
The firm touted its longstanding
connection to the $3 billion agency in its 21-page proposal in
response to a CIRM RFA this spring. The firm has been with CIRM since
2005.
Nielsen Merksamer's proposal also noted
a couple of other interesting aspects of the continuing arrangement.
CIRM will run out of money for new grants in 2017, and Nielsen
Merkasamer said,

“Furthermore, as a premier
legislative advocacy and (Nielsen's italics) ballot measure
law ?rm, Nielsen Merksamer can actively and effectively assist CIRM
as it contemplates returning to the voters for additional funding.”

The proposal also suggested that it can
conceal information that normally would be public record. The firm
said,

“Another unique advantage offered by
Nielsen Merksamer is that, unlike the vast majority of lobbying ?rms,
since we are a full-service law ?rm, our relationships with our
clients are subject to the attorney-client privilege.”

CIRM used such a technique in 2012 and 2008 in matters involving its budget and PR advice.
Nielsen Merksamer also said,

“(N)o one understands CIRM’s 'total
picture' better than Nielsen Merksamer. Not only has Nielsen
Merksamer been representing CIRM before the Legislature for the past
decade, but Nielsen Merksamer was also one of the principal drafters
of the aforementioned Proposition 71—which brought CIRM to life.
The depth of Nielsen Merksamer’s familiarity with, and
understanding of, CIRM’s mission and structure, the challenges it
faces, and the promise it holds simply cannot be matched by any other
legislative advocate.”

The firm said it would not need the
$65,000 offered by CIRM but would charge only $49,200 annually, about the same as
it has been paid for several years. Steve Merksamer and Gene Erbin,
who drafted portions of Proposition 71, would handle most of CIRM's
affairs. John Moffatt and Missy Johnson would also be available.
The firm's proposal outlined several
instances where it successfully killed legislation opposed by CIRM.
You can read about them in their proposal below.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/kTRN6kUuSDk/merksamer-makes-only-bid-for-stem-cell.html

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Light Coverage of Cellular Dynamics IPO But One Exec Says It’s Good for Stem Cell Biz

A handful of media outlets today
carried stories about the public stock offering announced yesterday
by Cellular Dynamics International, Inc., a Wisconsin firm that will
benefit to the tune of $16 million-plus from the California stem cell agency.
Kathleen Gallagher of the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel described the company, founded by stem cell pioneer
Jamie Thomson, as in the business of making “fully functioning human cells in industrial quantities.”
Judy Newman of the Wisconsin State
Journal in Madison, where the company is based, quoted Beth Donley,
chief executive of Stemina
Biomarker Discovery, as saying,

“It can’t help but increase the
value of other stem cell companies.”

Thomson is a professor both at the
University of Wisconsin in Madison and at UC Santa Barbara, and we
queried Dennis Clegg, co-director of the Center for Stem Cell
Biology and Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, about the school's
ties to Cellular Dynamics, which hopes to take in $57 million in its public offering.
He replied in an email that Santa
Barbara has a collaboration with Cellular Dynamics and the University
of Wisconsin to develop a vision-restoring, stem-cell-based therapy
for people with advanced retinal diseases. That $900,000 effort is financed by the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
The California stem cell agency grant
to Cellular Dynamics is for work at the stem cell bank being created
at the Buck Institute in Novato, north of San Francisco.
The Milwaukee Business Journal and
Genomeweb also carried stories on the IPO.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/iGlLbdQVr0Y/light-coverage-of-cellular-dynamics-ipo.html

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Light Coverage of Cellular Dynamics IPO But One Exec Says It's Good for Stem Cell Biz

A handful of media outlets today
carried stories about the public stock offering announced yesterday
by Cellular Dynamics International, Inc., a Wisconsin firm that will
benefit to the tune of $16 million-plus from the California stem cell agency.
Kathleen Gallagher of the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel described the company, founded by stem cell pioneer
Jamie Thomson, as in the business of making “fully functioning human cells in industrial quantities.”
Judy Newman of the Wisconsin State
Journal in Madison, where the company is based, quoted Beth Donley,
chief executive of Stemina
Biomarker Discovery, as saying,

“It can’t help but increase the
value of other stem cell companies.”

Thomson is a professor both at the
University of Wisconsin in Madison and at UC Santa Barbara, and we
queried Dennis Clegg, co-director of the Center for Stem Cell
Biology and Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, about the school's
ties to Cellular Dynamics, which hopes to take in $57 million in its public offering.
He replied in an email that Santa
Barbara has a collaboration with Cellular Dynamics and the University
of Wisconsin to develop a vision-restoring, stem-cell-based therapy
for people with advanced retinal diseases. That $900,000 effort is financed by the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
The California stem cell agency grant
to Cellular Dynamics is for work at the stem cell bank being created
at the Buck Institute in Novato, north of San Francisco.
The Milwaukee Business Journal and
Genomeweb also carried stories on the IPO.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/iGlLbdQVr0Y/light-coverage-of-cellular-dynamics-ipo.html

Posted in Stem Cell Therapy, Stem Cells | Comments Off on Light Coverage of Cellular Dynamics IPO But One Exec Says It's Good for Stem Cell Biz

Cellular Dynamics: California Stem Cell Agency Recipient Plans $57 Million IPO

A Wisconsin firm that is the
beneficiary of more than $16 million from the California stem cell
agency today announced that it intends to go public to raise $57.3
million for its iPS cell ventures.
Jamie Thomson
UCSB photo
The firm is Cellular Dynamics
International, Inc., and was co-founded by internationally known stem
cell scientist Jamie Thomson of the University of Wisconsin, who is
currently the company's chief scientific officer. Thomson is also a professor
at UC Santa Barbara, where he is co-director of the Center for Stem
Cell Biology and Engineering.
In March, the California stem cell
agency awarded a $16 million grant to Cellular Dynamics to derive
three iPS cell lines from 3,000 individuals as part of the agency's
stem cell banking initiative. (Here is a link to the grant review summary.)
The company said in its SEC
filings that it also will be the prime subcontractor on a $10 million
grant that the Coriell Institute for Medical Research of Camden,
N.J., received in the agency's stem cell banking round. Cellular Dynamics said
some of the funds from the IPO will be used to complete its
California laboratory in leased space at the Buck Institute in
Novato, north of San Francisco.
Cellular Dynamics was founded in 2004
and sold its first commercial product in 2010. It reported revenues
of $6.6 million in 2012 and losses of $22.3 million. It has 115
full-time and part-time employees worldwide.
The company said,

“During 2011 and 2012, we had three
large biopharmaceutical customers that individually accounted for
greater than 10% of our total revenue in one or both years. Eli Lilly
and Company (Lilly) accounted for 10% of total revenue in 2011 and
18% of total revenue in 2012. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche)
accounted for 13% of total revenue in 2011 and GlaxoSmithKline plc
(GSK) accounted for 11% of our total revenue in 2012.”

Cellular Dynamics also said in its
filings,

“Our total revenue grew from $2.6
million in 2011 to $6.6 million in 2012, an increase of 154%. This
growth was driven by a 247% increase in sales of our iCell products
which grew from $1.5 million in 2011 to $5.2 million in 2012. At
December 31, 2011, our backlog of revenue expected to be recognized
in 2012 was $1.1 million. At December 31, 2012, our backlog of
revenue expected to be recognized in 2013 had grown to $4.1 million.

“For the three months ended March 31,
2013 our total revenue was $2.4 million, an increase of 109% over the
corresponding period in 2012. This growth was driven primarily by an
increase in iCell product sales, which grew from $0.6 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2012 to $1.8 million for the three
months ended March 31, 2013, an increase of 173%.”

Paul Knoepfler of UC Davis, writing on his blog, touched on some of the aspects of the IP issues involving
Cellular Dynamics and  Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize last year for discovering how to reprogram adult stem cells into pluripotent cells (the iPS process).
 Knoepfler wrote,

"A
recent question is the issue of who has the intellectual property
(IP) rights to iPS cell technology. People have told me in the
past that they wondered if Cellular Dynamics has unambiguous rights
to develop all of these iPS cell-based products."

Knoepfler also wrote,

 “This (the IPO) looks to
be very interesting and could transform the field as it develops.”

News coverage today of the IPO filing
was light, but is more expected to surface tomorrow. Here is a link to the only story that had surfaced as of this writing. 

No price or date has yet been set for
the offering.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/0oup8hU2FGE/cellular-dynamics-california-stem-cell.html

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Pomeroy on Doing the Right Thing and Foster Care

Claire Pomeroy
CIRM photo
On Claire Pomeroy's last day as a
member of the governing board of the $3 billion California stem cell
agency, she also published an essay on the Huffington Post in which
she discussed fleeing from an abusive home at age 14.
Pomeroy, former vice chancellor and
dean of the medical school at UC Davis and now president of the Lasker Foundation in New York,  wrote last month,

“For some children, the uncertainty
of life on the street is better than certainty of violence at home.
It was for me. At age 14, I escaped from an abusive home with no
money, nowhere to go and only the clothes I was wearing. I remember
staring into the night, standing somewhere between fear and freedom.
I became one of the millions of homeless teens, yet I was lucky
because foster care ultimately saved me.”

“However, after an emergency
placement and three foster homes, the challenges were not over. At 17
I aged out of the foster care system early when my foster parents
moved out of state. On my own again, I had to find a job, a place to
live and finish high school. Then I climbed the next mountain to
graduate from college and medical school.”

Pomeroy said she only recently began
publicly talking about her foster care experience. She said she is
doing so because “many  people lack an understanding of
the harsh statistics and their impact on the country's future. The
nation faces a crisis that demands a call to action to start truly
caring about foster youth before it is too late.”
She said that she was “lucky” in the
foster care system but said that many children, particularly minorities among others such as the disabled, were not as fortunate and “were failed by the system and society.” Pomeroy called them
“throwaway children” who were “robbed of their ideals, gave up
hope and struggled to find a reason to live.”
Less than half of the foster children
who “age out” of the system graduate from high school, she wrote. Only 3
percent to 11 percent earn a bachelor's degree. More than
400,000 children were in foster care in 2011 and have a one in 11 chance
of being homeless.
Pomeroy called for expansion and
improvement of foster care across the country. “It is time to stop
forcing children to be the heroes of their own survival,” she
wrote. “Now is the time to do the right the right thing.”
------
On a personal note, we have four
grandchildren, one of whom was adopted out of foster care as a
toddler. The other was adopted at birth. Some of the siblings of
those two African-American children remain in foster care today.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/zancriHTUC4/pomeroy-on-doing-right-thing-and-foster.html

Posted in Stem Cell Therapy, Stem Cells | Comments Off on Pomeroy on Doing the Right Thing and Foster Care