CGS-authored

California's new stem cell institute, which voters approved 14 months ago, is falling far short of expectations, and its chairman should step down, a group said Wednesday.

The Oakland-based Center for Genetics and Society said in a report that the new state agency overseeing $3 billion in taxpayer funds over the next 10 years for basic science is not accountable to the public and is going back on campaign promises of affordable cures.

The center said Robert Klein, the chairman of the board of the new California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, is acting like he is still in campaign mode rather than focusing on the realities of running a transparent and effective state agency. Klein led the successful Proposition 71 campaign that created CIRM.

"In order for CIRM to move forward, it needs a fresh start," said Jesse Reynolds, biotechnology project director for the Center for Genetics and Society. The center supports embryonic stem cell research and using public funds for the science but has been harshly critical of CIRM and did not support Proposition 71.

The report authors said...