California stem cell agency addressing conflict of interest concerns

California's stem cell agency, which oversees $3 billion in research funds, has announced plans to address long-standing conflict of interest concerns involving its governing board.

Under the new policy, tentatively approved last week, the 13 board members of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine who represent institutions eligible for funding from the agency would no longer vote on grants brought before the board.

The board's final vote is expected March 19.

The stem cell agency was created in 2005 after California voters approved Proposition 71 to fund cutting-edge scientific research in the hope of finding cures and treatments for a host of debilitating diseases.

From the beginning, critics raised concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest on its 29-member governing board.

An independent group of scientists reviews grant applications and makes funding recommendations to the board. It approves the recommendations about 98 percent of the time, said agency spokesman Kevin McCormack. But the board can also approve grants that weren't recommended.

The board includes representatives of such prestigious research institutions as Stanford University, UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley, other UC campuses, Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, City of Hope and the Keck School of Medicine. Such institutions have received 90 percent of the $1.3 billion in grants distributed thus far to 59 organizations,

Because of the concerns, the stem cell agency asked the influential Institute of Medicine to evaluate its operations. Last month, the national institute called for structural changes in the agency board to reduce the chance of conflicts of interest.

The board thought it was important to act quickly on the recommendations "even though we don't necessarily agree there is a conflict of interest," McCormack said.

A consumer advocate said Monday he is pleased to see the board tackle the issue but isn't sure it goes far enough.

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California stem cell agency addressing conflict of interest concerns