California Moving to Create More Accessibility to Multimillion-Dollar Gene and Stem Cell Therapies

New requirements for awards financed by the Golden State

CIRM’s patient assistance requirements would start well in advance of commercialization. For more details, see this 37-page presentation. PAP stands for patient assistance programs, CGT for cell, gene therapies.

Five years ago, California voters ordered the state’s $12 billion stem cell and genetic research agency to make the therapies that it is helping to develop both affordable and accessible to the people of the Golden State.

It is no small task. The costs of such therapies are already exceeding $4 million.

This Friday, the agency will publicly air many of the complex details about how it intends to fulfill part of its mandate. The next step is a presentation of the access process to the agency’s full board Sept. 25 in Los Angeles. If researchers, companies and patients want their voices heard, this week is the best time to weigh in.

The plans call for recipients of California cash to consider access at the earliest stages of funding by the agency, known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

The approach “provides not only early visibility into potential barriers but also establishes measurable commitments