California's Pathway to the Affordability of Multimillion-Dollar, Revolutionary Stem Cell and Gene Therapies

The effort by CIRM was mandated by voters four years ago.

More information about the chart can be found in the full slide presentation. The categories in the top line, such as CLIN2 and PDEV, are abbreviations for specific funding rounds. CIRM graphic.

Working under a mandate from voters, the $12 billion California stem cell and gene therapy program is ready to require clinical-stage researchers to take specific steps to make their proposed treatments affordable and accessible for California patients.

The plan, which is certain to be enacted in one form or another, was developed as part of the agency’s new priorities to boost the impact of its spending. It will affect hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is officially known.

CIRM is the only research funding program in the country that is legally mandated to ensure the affordability and accessibility of the therapies it supports. The requirement was imposed by voters when they approved the refinancing of CIRM in 2020. Some genetic therapies — ones not funded by CIRM — have price tags as high as $4 million.

CIRM revealed its proposal for the first time this week. It will be discussed and moved forward at an online, public meeting next Wednesday.

Comments and suggestions can be made by telephone during the meeting and in writing prior to the session, which will be based out of its South San Francisco headquarters. It can be viewed on the CIRM TV channel.

A memo and slides dealing with the complex proposal