Showing posts with label PR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PR. Show all posts

Friday, October 02, 2020

Today's Marching Orders from the California Campaign for $5.5 Billion for Stem Cell Research

 

A clip from an email pitch by the campaign for Proposition 14



Backers of the $5.5 billion ballot measure to save the California stem cell agency from its financial demise
are working hard to keep their troops on track to build support for Proposition 14.

Today the campaign sent out a pitch (see above) as part of its social media drive to win approval of Proposition 14 in the Nov. 3 election. And it couldn't be more timely. Twenty-million voters are already beginning to receive their mail-in ballots.

The directions are explicit and amount to a daily list of tasks for patient advocates and others who have signed up for information from the campaign. The sign-up request is on the home page of the campaign website and impossible to miss. 

"Join now. Be part of the movement," declares the website. 

Social media is a bit of a loose term, but it includes such things as Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Research shows that about two-thirds of U.S. adults get news from social media sites. "One-in-five get news there often," says the Pew Research Center. 
"Facebook is still far and away the site Americans most commonly use for news, with little change since 2017. About four-in-ten Americans (43%) get news on Facebook. The next most commonly used site for news is YouTube, with 21% getting news there, followed by Twitter at 12%. Smaller portions of Americans (8% or fewer) get news from other social networks like Instagram, LinkedIn or Snapchat," says Pew.
News consumption is only part of the picture for a campaign. What may be more important is the personal connection that supporters can bring via social media. It is a question of trust and who do you listen to. Someone that you are connected to via social media and know even slightly may appear more trustworthy than the professional purveyors of information. 

So far the mainstream media is covering Proposition 14 lightly, a trend that is likely to continue. The presidential campaign consumes most of the traditional news space. State issues are receiving only minor attention, and Proposition 14 even less. That could be good for its chances of passage, but it is hard to tell in this very unusual political year. Under any circumstance, it remains imperative for the campaign to turn out its supporters in large numbers, which is a key goal for the social media effort. 

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

Why Does It Matter? Clues for Scientists When Dealing with Reporters

Scientists -- like Boy Scouts -- should be prepared when that call comes in from one of the ink-stained wretches of the mainstream, print media or one of the harried online reporters who hardly have time to think.

Based on decades of experience on behalf of the folks who own the presses, I can tell you that is a good admonition. It was reinforced mightily by another few years on the opposite side of the reporters' notebook, where it became readily apparently that interviewees need to think carefully about the message they want to impart.

Today, I ran across some advice to journalists who aspire to query researchers. I am passing it along to the readers of the California Stem Cell Report, 99.9 percent of whom would never see it otherwise.

It helps give our readers a frame of reference and a clue to what to expect when a mass media opportunity comes knocking. So here it is, questions for journalists to ask scientists, as prepared by Elissa Yancey of the Poynter Institute, a well-respected Florida enterprise involved in journalism training.
  • "Why does this study matter?
  • "Why did you want to do this study?
  • "How does this study relate to your other work?
  • "What was your role in the study?
  • "What surprised you the most?
  • "Did you change any of your or your family’s habits as a result of anything you learned from this study?
  • "What are the economic stakes of the study/topic from your perspective? Your employer's or funder's perspective? (i.e., whose profits / earnings might be harmed or helped by this study? Who is invested in it?)
  • "What comes next? (More studies? Different funders? Legislation?)"

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Readership Numbers for the Stem Cellar, the official blog of California's Stem Cell Agency

Here are some readership figures for the Stem Cellar, the official blog of the California stem cell agency, known formally as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The numbers and text were provided by the agency and come from Kevin McCormack, senior director of communications.
"We only have stats from May 2014 because that is the date when this blog was switched to Wordpress (that’s also the reason why the viewing figures for May were so low, it took people a while to find the new site). The blog started in 2007 on a site called blogspot." 
Data from 2015:
Home page views: 34,871
Top blog reads: 2,336
Best ever views: Sept 2nd 2015 with 1,454 views
From May 2014-Dec 2015
Views went from 60  to ~13,000

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2014601,7156,0197,2745,8078,44811,4209,59250,335
201511,0458,66410,3837,5209,32610,3448,30310,01013,23013,63413,39112,145127,995

Average per Day

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Overall
2014
2
57
194
235
194
273
381
309
209
2015
356
309
335
251
301
345
268
323
441
440
446
429
353
Referrers (in order of top views)
1)    Search Engines (google, bing, yahoo)
2)    Facebook
3)    Twitter
Total # Posts: 1,555
Total followers: 485 (115 on wordpress and 370 on email subscription)

(Editor's note: This item was belatedly added in September 2016 because of publishing error in January 2016, when it should have been posted by yours truly.)

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Bluebird and Banking: Media Pluses for California Stem Cell Agency

The California stem cell agency scored a couple of favorable publicity points last week as the result of a successful stock offering by an award recipient and another piece about creation of a stem cell bank in Northern California.

The IPO by bluebird bio (the company's preferred spelling) of Massachusetts was a big winner for the company, raising millions of dollars more than anticipated.

The Boston Globe wrote,
“Shares of the Cambridge life sciences company bluebird bio Inc. soared almost 60 percent on their first day of trading (last) Wednesday, an impressive debut for a business that endured years of stagnation and another encouraging sign for the biotechnology industry.
“The local gene therapy company raised $101 million in an initial public offering priced at $17 per share, higher than the $14 to $16 estimated by investment bankers. Bluebird shares closed at $26.91 per share on Wednesday.”
The stock continues to trade around $25 a share at the time of this writing, which is good news generally for the biotech industry.

The company received a $9.4 million award last fall from the $3 billion stem cell agency. The company has yet to receive any actual cash from the agency as both parties work out final details of an agreement, a spokesman for the agency said last week.

The stem cell agency touted the successful IPO in a blog item by  that said,
“Bluebird Bio, one of the oldest companies in the struggling gene therapy field, is having an outstanding first day in the stock market today, and largely by marrying its gene therapy technology with stem cell science. The company’s financial milestone brings hope and excitement to both fields.”
However, the news stories about the IPO failed to mention the stem cell agency's involvement, which would have been nice for the agency but was to be expected given the way news is covered.

The story about the stem cell bank appeared on Xconomy, an Internet news service dealing with technology. Written by Bernadette Tansey, a former San Francisco Chronicle reporter, the piece dealt with the both business and science of stem cell banking. She wrote,
“One of the main goals of California’s $3 billion stem cell research agency is to draw companies into the state so they can vie for a share of the funding.
"With a recently funded $32 million initiative, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM) has attracted two of the biggest US players in stem cell banking to Novato, CA, to form one of the largest biobanks of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) in the world.”
The stem cell bank effort has become a minor staple in recent news coverage of CIRM, surfacing in a number of articles since the awards were approved. One of the reasons for that is that the project has a relatively straight-forward story line compared to many research efforts and the concept of "banking" is familiar to editors, writers and readers. 

Monday, November 23, 2009

How to Handle Pesky Media Types

What do you do when a cranky reporter comes calling and asks questions you do not want to answer or cannot?

One prospective contractor with the California stem cell agency today provided a fine example of how to deal with such a situation. We are offering it as a model that can be used by scientists, government officials and business men and women alike.

After we posted our item today involving Turner Consulting Group of Washington, D.C., we emailed a note to the firm, alerting it to the piece and asking two questions about the size of the proposed contract with CIRM and the nature of the work, none of which CIRM has yet disclosed.

Here is the verbatim response from David Cassidy, vice president of the firm:
“Hello David,

“Thank you for your e-mail, and for mentioning us in your blog. We are avid bloggers ourselves; feel free to browse http://blog.tcg.com if you haven't already!

“Your questions regarding CIRM are best addressed by that agency, if you'd like to invite them to do so.

“By the way, you may be interested to know that our very latest figures (yet to be published) show that we've saved the federal government $199 million. Our goal is to save US taxpayers $1 BILLION by 2016, by supporting our government clients with superior technology and management consulting services.

“Thanks,
“Dave”
Cassidy did not answer our questions, but he delivered a response that served the best interests of his company, deferring to CIRM, which probably will wind up paying Turner a lot of money.

Cassidy acted within hours of the initial query, which is very important in an era when information moves at cyberspace speed. Prompt response is especially important with mainstream media, which is constantly producing a product for Web sites that change hourly in addition to the normal print and broadcast efforts. Failure to respond and late responses mean unanswered questions in a reader's mind, often reflectively unfavorably on an organization.

Cassidy's email was polite, reflecting a personal, professional and organizational confidence that would be likely to accrue to Turner's benefit.

Finally, Cassidy threw out some diversionary meat, a tactic that helps throw the running dogs of the media off the scent. His email contained two pieces of fresh – and fresh is important – information (Turner's blog and the $199 million cost savings). Even if the new material does not make it into print, questioning media types often find such stuff palliative.

Our query could have been handled reasonably in other ways as well. But Turner's response more than filled the bill, given that it wisely deferred to CIRM, and creates a benign foundation on which to build.

Friday, January 23, 2009

UCI Touts Role in Geron Trials


The University of California, Irvine was quick today to put out a news release on its role in development of the Geron therapy that is now moving into history-making clinical trials.

The school headlined the release: "UCI behind world's first embryonic stem cell study in humans." And it said,
"A therapy developed at UC Irvine that made paralyzed rats walk again will become the world’s first embryonic stem cell treatment tested in humans."
Specifically mentioned were Hans Kierstad (see lower photo) and Gabriel Nistor, who published their work in 2005, generating considerable international attention. Kierstad's smiling face dominated the entire home page of UCI today. We asked Nistor to send us a photo which is at the top.

The release also noted that UCI has received more than $52 million from the California stem cell agency. It did not mention that Susan Bryant, vce Chancellor for research at the UCI School of Biological Sciences, and Oswald Steward, director of the UCI Reeve-Irvine Research Center at the campus, sit on the agency's board of directors.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Grant Coverage Light, Bloomberg Highlights Korean-linked Award

The announcement of nearly $76 million in embryonic stem cell research grants in California generated modest media attention today – less than last month's giveaway that involved much less money. The presence of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, helped push the coverage of February's awards to an exceptional level. Plus they were the first awarded by CIRM.

Few surprises popped up in the papers today. But reporter Rob Waters of Bloomberg.com highlighted the Korean connections of one Los Angeles-based recipient. Waters wrote:
"CHA RMI was awarded a grant of $2.6 million. Along with its sister organization, CHA Stem Cell Institute in Seoul, it's a non-profit unit of CHA Biotech(of Seoul). The Los Angeles unit proposes to use its grant to create stem cell lines using a process known as therapeutic cloning, or somatic cell nuclear transfer.

"The CHA RMI researchers will attempt to create cloned human embryos with the cellular attributes of Lou Gehrig's disease, an incurable neurological disorder. They will try to do this by combining human egg cells whose nucleus has been removed with DNA provided by adults with the disease. The scientists will then isolate and extract stem cells from the embryos.

"'We feel a great responsibility for this project and we will pursue our research with utmost efforts,' Chung Hyung Min, a professor and the director of the project at CHA Stem Cell Institute, said in a telephone interview from Seoul. "It won't be an easy project, but we're striving so that our efforts can contribute to curing Lou Gehrig's disease and many other diseases such as Parkinson's disease."

"CHA Biotech is a for-profit entity set up to coordinate the work of academic researchers and hospital physicians centered on stem cell, gene therapy and regenerative medicine technology, according to its Web site. It's part of CHA Health Systems, also called the CHA Medical Group, which owns or is affiliated with several universities, hospitals and research institutes in Korea and the U.S."
Prop. 71 limits grants to institutions located in California, which CHA RMI appears to be. We are attempting to track down a more detailed definition of the limitation and will post it when it becomes available.

Most reporters focused on the dollars in the grants. But Jim Downing of The Sacramento Bee zeroed in on the researchers and their goals. The first two paragraphs of his story read:
"Mark Zern is trying to figure out how to grow adult human livers, more or less from scratch.

"Alice Tarantal hopes to find a way to regenerate failed kidneys."
Here are links to other stories and press releases issued by recipient institutions. We will carry links to other news releases from recipients as they come to our attention.

Steve Johnson, San Jose Mercury News

Carl Hall, San Francisco Chronicle


Reporter Terri Somers, San Diego Union-Tribune

Mary Engel, Los Angeles Times

Gary Robbins, Orange Country Register


People's Daily Online

UCLA

UC San Diego

UC San Francisco

Burnham Institute


Stanford

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Chiropractors, CIRM and Its Legislative Posture

The 120 men and women who sit in the California Legislature generally tend to think they have prime responsibility for writing the laws that govern the state. And they often get edgy when state agencies, even ones that have special constitutional status, seem to be straying from the governmental straight and narrow.

Such was the case recently with the California's chiropractic board, which is enshrined in the State Constitution. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's appointees to the board became carried away in what a deputy attorney general described as a fit of "lawlessness." Now the board faces a serious legislative investigation that could include elimination of its $3 million budget.

While this is something of a minor tempest – although not for chiropractors -- the chiropractic board shares several things in common with California's much heftier, $3 billion stem cell agency. Both are written into the State Constitution. Both were created by initiative. Both have issues involving conflicts of interest. And both function in near obscurity except when they hand out buckets of money – in the case of the stem cell agency – or when a scandal erupts, as in the case of chiropractic board.

Obviously major differences exist between the two boards, including the quality of the appointees. But the case of the chiropractors illustrates how quickly matters can go awry in an insular agency and how quickly the legislature may move to step in. The case will also probably show how quickly the governor can put distance between himself and what The Sacramento Bee called a "laughingstock."

Last Sunday we discussed the sometimes acrimonious relationship between CIRM and the California legislature, particularly in the light of bipartisan legislation by the chair of the Senate Health Committee, Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica. Her measure would inject the legislature into the difficult and touchy matter of how the stem cell agency decides to share the potentially enormous wealth from cures developed with state-funded research. After a shaky start with lawmakers, CIRM has moved to improve its legislative relations and keep lawmakers well informed.

Our piece, which appeared as an op-ed in The Sacramento Bee, was necessarily limited because of space. But we wanted to share more that we heard from CIRM and two longtime observers of the agency, who also have been critical of its performance from time to time and sometimes even more often. What follows are virtually verbatim comments.

First, from Dale Carlson, chief communications officer for the stem cell agency:
"We have an active government affairs program underway in Sacramento focused on legislators and statewide office holders, as well as their respective staff members. We want to keep them apprised of our efforts and progress, the status of key regulatory and funding initiatives, and the challenges we are confronting in pursuit of our mandate and obligations.

"The objective is to ensure that key decision-makers have current, accurate, and reliable information about CIRM's activities, the field of stem cell research, and related issues. We seem to receive reports of new scientific developments every week, and with more states committing funding to the field each year, it's likely that pace will accelerate. It's a challenge for us to stay abreast of the science, federal policy, and other states' emerging policies, all of which have an effect on our scientific project.

"We're very proud of the work we're doing, the processes we follow to engage the public in the development of policies and regulations that are required by the law, and the willingness we've demonstrated to adopt and apply good ideas from variety of sources. We want to be recognized as a credible source of information on all things stem cell, regardless of whether the question is directly related to CIRM's activities.

"Our legislative affairs program includes one-on-one meetings and group briefings. (Early in February), for example, ICOC Vice Chair Ed Penhoet and several CIRM staff held a session with staff from the Speaker's office and the Senate Health Committee and others, to review our IP policies for non-profits and for-profits. Both have been the subject of great interest and discussion in Sacramento (as well as throughout the state and in Washington, D.C.), with legislators offering many suggestions for how those policies might be crafted and strengthened. Our presentation described the progress we've made to date - emphasizing that the regulatory process is still moving forward and unlikely to be completed for several months - as well as a review of the issues we're struggling to address. "(Later in February), (CIRM President) Zach Hall, Arlene Chiu, and Mary Maxon (Chiu and Maxon are CIRM staff) conducted a broader briefing on the basics of stem cells, the progress we've made in our first two years, including on the IP policies, and the grants approved by the ICOC.

"Kirk Kleinschmidt, our Director of Legislation and Research Policy, has day-to-day responsibility for the effort. In addition to arranging these group sessions, he's regularly in the capital meeting with individual members. Gene Erbin from Nielsen Merksamer is on retainer to support the effort. Per the provisions of Proposition 71, (Stem Cell Chairman) Bob Klein oversees the legislative affairs program in consultation with the Legislative Subcommittee and the ICOC. He's in regular contact with federal and the statewide office holders as well as the legislative
leadership."
Carlson also said that Klein, Penhoet, Kleinschmidt and Patricia Olson, who led development of the CIRM strategic plan, had a 90-minute meeting with Kuehl last Wednesday.

Carlson said it was a "detailed discussion of our IP policies, the drug/therapy development process and the extensive public process we've followed."
"This is the kind of relationship we want with the legislature. Respectful and substantive. We want them to be assured that we're going about our responsiblities thoughtfully and carefully, and that we welcome good ideas and the opportunity to discuss our efforts."
Carlson said the CIRM board will meet in Sacramento April 10 and expects to finish its meeting in time for board members to visit with legislators in the afternoon.

Jesse Reynolds, project director on biotechnology accountability for the Center for Genetics and Society in Oakland, has followed CIRM closely during the last two years as well as the Prop. 71 campaign.

Here is what he had to say in response to our query:
"Prop. 71 is a deeply flawed set of laws, with numerous exemptions to the norms of transparency, oversight and accountability....

"Hopefully, the leadership of the CIRM won't be as hostile to much-needed reform as it was during previous attempts. Then, the state's 'stem cell czar,' Robert Klein took the unprecedented step of hiring a lobbyist with taxpayer funds. What's more, while serving as chair of the CIRM's governing board, he simultaneously headed up a private lobbying organization, which advocates for more funding and less oversight of stem cell research. These actions are not appropriate for the head of a state agency.

"Klein's statements that 'the Legislature is not needed' and that then-Senator Ortiz was 'an ongoing threat' are not only wrong, but highlight his cavalier attitude in his role as a public servant. As the people's elected representatives, the Legislature certainly has a critical role in overseeing a multi-billion dollar program. As a senator, Ortiz did more for stem cell research and Proposition 71 than any other elected official."
John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumers Rights in Santa Monica, Ca., is another longtime follower of CIRM matters. He said,
"Key to any IP policy are provisions that ensure affordable access for all Californians to any cures or treatments resulting from stem cell research they funded. The ICOC originally envisioned meeting that goal by requiring treatments purchased with public funds to be sold at the federal Medicaid price and that there be a plan in place that would provide access to the treatments for uninsured people.

"In drawing up the actual regulatory language to implement those policies, the ICOC has softened those proposals.....

"I think Kuehl's bill would increase payback to the state, but doesn't do enough to ensure affordable access for all Californians. There should be a provision that if there are unreasonable prices the attorney general can intervene. I cite Genentech's Avastin as an example of what cannot be allowed. The drug was developed with $44.6 million in public funds from the National Cancer Institute yet Genentech charges $100,000 a year for it.

"I'd also like to see action on governance and accountability issues. I don't know what Sen. Kuehl's plans are in this regard. Members of the various working groups should be required to file public disclosures of their interests. All applicants and their institutions should be identified, not just recipients. Finally the ICOC is too large. It should be trimmed from the 29 members who now have seats.

"Another thought: ICOC members themselves have expressed concerns about some provisions of Prop 71. It might be useful for both CIRM and the legislature to attempt to identify such areas and agree on making those changes."

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Klein on Clinical Trial Problems with ESC Research

California stem cell Chairman Robert Klein is concerned about "tragedies" during clinical trials of cures developed with funding by the state of California.

He made the comment in a question-and-answer interview with reporter Steve Johnson of the San Jose Mercury News.

Klein was asked about his main concerning clinical trials funded by CIRM.

He replied:
"We need to work with the patient advocacy groups and the public so they understand that as we start trials there will be great victories, there also will be tragedies. They need to understand this is part of the process we need to go through. Because if the public is not broadly informed, there could be a reaction that could shut down the trial."
However, any clinical trials are years away. CIRM also may not be involved in their direct funding, although the cures may be based on state-funded research.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Robert Klein's Unseemly Position

The PR drums are beginning to sound for next Friday's $80 million stem cell giveaway in Los Angeles.

This time the flashbulbs and lights will be for a Democrat – not a Republican. He is Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles. As you may recall, California's Republican governor appeared last month for the hoopla when the California stem cell agency awarded its first-ever research grants.

Interestingly, announcement of the "CIRM press event" came not from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine but on stemcellbattles.com, the blog of patient advocate Don Reed.
The announcement also carried the name of Amy Daly, executive director of Americans for Stem Cell Therapies and Cures, which is the private lobbying organization headed by Robert Klein. Klein is also chair of the state stem cell agency, which is giving away the money next week – part of $3 billion in state funds that intends to hand out over 10 years.

No mention of the "CIRM press event" could be found Saturday on the CIRM web site. Of course, anyone can call a news conference. But it is in the same location as the meeting for the agency, the Harvey Morse Conference Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and would require the permission of that institution.

What does all this mean? It means continuing confusion about Klein and his role. Is he a lobbyist and private advocate for embryonic stem cell research? How does that fit with his role as a state employee and chair of the CIRM Oversight Committee? Can he separate those functions?

Last year, as head of the Americans group he denounced the leading voice for embryonic stem cell research in the state legislature as an "ongoing threat" to CIRM. The state agency, however, declined to comment on Klein's statement, saying he prepared it on his own time.

Klein has testified in court that he does not consider himself a state employee. In 2005, he refused to appear before the legislature for a hearing into issues involving CIRM. A millionaire businessman, he does not accept a salary as chair of the Oversight Committee.

Normally announcement of a news conference is aimed at notifying the news media for possible coverage. In the case of the announcement from Klein's lobbying group, it was aimed more at generating attendance by those would benefit from possible cures developed as the result of state-funded research. Their attendance provides better visuals and interviews for TV, radio and print reporters than the talking heads of state officials.

Building support for ESC research and generating news coverage for CIRM's work seems a worthwhile endeavor. But unseemly is a better word for Klein's current position astride both a state agency and the lobbying effort.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Governor's Cyberspace Splash on ESC Research

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put the state's stem cell issues at the top of his Web publicity agenda for several days earlier this week.

The governor's Internet site carried, on its main media page, video, audio and text on the $45 million in research grant awards by CIRM. A complete video of the news conference in Burlingame on Friday along with the governor's weekly radio address (Spanish and English) was and is still available. The site carried four still photos of the news conference. Claire Pomeroy, a member of the CIRM Oversight Committee and dean of the UC Davis medical school, is also featured in a video blog.

A few notes on matters not necessarily highlighted in the news coverage. It was abundantly clear that governor is committed to making another large loan to the agency if it remains bogged down in legal battles. A reporter questioned whether he was prepared to make another $150 million loan if needed. The governor's response was that he was committed "all the way."

Schwarzenegger also noted "the state teaches the federal government what to do." He said, "We don't wait." The California example, he noted, is rubbing off on other states. ESC research is a "people's issue." As for his role in the matter, he said, "I am a public servant."

Stem cell Chairman Robert Klein was ebullient during the news conference. But he also noted there will be "problems and failures" in the research. "We will learn from them," he said.

Also featured on the video was patient advocate Don Reed, who made heartfelt comments, along with his son, Roman Reed, who is paralyzed. The younger spoke as well, but was not near a microphone for the first segment of his comments.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Big Pharma Is Watching

It was stem cells live – surgery and all – in San Diego Tuesday at the Stem Cells Summit.

Terri Somers wrote in the San Diego Union-Tribune about a disectomy broadcast live from Scripps Memorial Hospital as a demonstration of a stem cell therapy that is not years away. The operation involved a Blackstone Medical product called Trinity, a combination of bone and stem cells.

Somers reported that representatives from Big Pharma were at the conference looking for the next big thing. She said:
"Therapies from human embryonic stem cells, which are controversial and receive more media coverage, are much farther from market because the understanding of these cells is nascent, said Tom Baker, a spokesman for San Diego-based Cytori Therapeutics, a stem cell company that sponsored the summit. The summit is an attempt to help people differentiate between the progress in the two fields, and drum up more interest in often-ignored but more advanced adult stem cell research, said Baker, whose company is developing therapies that pull adult stem cells from fat for reconstructive surgery or cardiac problems."



It was stem cells live – surgery and all – in San Diego Tuesday at the Stem Cells Summit.

Terri Somers wrote in the San Diego Union-Tribune about a disectomy broadcast live from Scripps Memorial Hospital as a demonstration of a stem cell therapy that is not years away. The operation involved a Blackstone Medical product called Trinity, a combination of bone and stem cells.

Somers reported that representatives from Big Pharma were at the conference looking for the next big thing. She said:

“Therapies from human embryonic stem cells, which are controversial and receive more media coverage, are much farther from market because the understanding of these cells is nascent, said Tom Baker, a spokesman for San Diego-based Cytori Therapeutics, a stem cell company that sponsored the summit. The summit is an attempt to help people differentiate between the progress in the two fields, and drum up more interest in often-ignored but more advanced adult stem cell research, said Baker, whose company is developing therapies that pull adult stem cells from fat for reconstructive surgery or cardiac problems. “

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/biotech/20070214-9999-1b14stems.html

Friday, February 09, 2007

ESC Research: Doing Well vs. Doing Good

Is embryonic stem cell research an economic boon or boondoggle for California? Or for other states as well?

Writer David Hamilton, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, discussed the subject this week on Slate. Here are excerpts of what he had to say:
"If medical treatments can be derived from stem-cell research, they are at least a decade or two away, if history is any guide. Even then, new therapies envisioned by supporters, such as diabetes treatments that regenerate insulin-producing islet cells, might add to government health-care costs instead of curbing them. The Baker-Deal report (from the 2004 Prop. 71 campaign) figured that stem-cell therapies could save California at least $3.4 billion in health-care costs over the next three decades by assuming the therapies would reduce state spending on six major medical conditions by 1 percent to 2 percent. While the authors cast that as a 'conservative' estimate, they don't even model the possibility that costs might rise instead. Recent medical advances haven't appreciably slowed growth in overall U.S. health-care spending, which continues to rise far faster than inflation.

"Ideally, of course, stem-cell therapies would start a trend in the opposite direction by reducing or eliminating the need for expensive and often lifelong medical care. For that to happen, though, the new treatments would need to largely replace existing ones at a reasonable price, and then doctors would have to use them sparingly—for instance, only on the patients most likely to benefit. None of these assumptions is a particularly good bet under the current U.S. health-care system, in which new treatments are often simply added to older ones, and where insurers so far have tended to pay top dollar for incremental medical advances."
Hamilton continued:
"What about the potential of stem-cell research to spur economic development—can a state that sponsors stem-cell research hope to attract cool scientists who will then draw others, plus a coterie of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists? Biotech companies do tend to cluster in places like San Francisco and Boston, but their overall impact on regional economies tends to be limited. While they often pay high salaries, the vast majority of these companies are tiny, unprofitable startups with fewer than 100 employees. They frequently collapse well before they earn a dollar in sales. Even successful biotech ventures are often bought out by distant drug companies, which sometimes shut down the acquired company while transferring its research activities and any products elsewhere. On top of all that, big states like California and New York are going to wind up competing for some of the very same scientists, VCs, and entrepreneurs, further shrinking the rewards.

"Why did Baker and Deal see dollar signs? The $200,000 stem-cell supporters paid to Deal's firm, the Analysis Group, for campaign consulting might have something to do with it. In an interview, Baker said he didn't think of the report as advocacy but added that 'we knew we were working for people who wanted to pass this thing.' And while he still believes the economic benefits of stem-cell research could be 'quite large,' Baker also describes the report as merely 'one possible version of how things might happen.'"
Hamilton's bottom line:
"None of this means that stem-cell research doesn't deserve government funding. Stem-cell science, after all, remains in its infancy. Nearly a decade after the discovery of embryonic stem cells in humans, scientists still don't know exactly how they work, how to assure their purity, or what unexpected side effects they might have when transplanted into the human body."
Since the Bush administration refuses to support ESC research, Hamilton, concluded "the states are right to ante up where the federal government has failed to. They just shouldn't expect to do well while they're doing good."

Hamilton's piece does not deal with a related reason for the economic argument for ESC research. Creating a dream of riches is an attempt -- generally successful, we might add -- to shift the terms of the debate. It is a no-win proposition if ESC research backers find themselves locked into a discussion of whether they are killing babies.

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