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The governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine voted Thursday to adopt a $70-million plan to develop a network of clinics for conducting trials of experimental stem-cell therapies.

The vote authorizes CIRM to begin accepting applications from academic institutions interested in hosting clinics. Ultimately, the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network will include up to five clinics as well as a coordinating center to shoulder some of their load, such as enrolling patients and handling the paperwork involved in clinical trials.

The board approved the plan by a vote of 19 to 1, according to David Jensen, publisher of the California Stem Cell Report. The one dissenter was Joan Samuelson, founder of the Parkinson’s Action Network, “who questioned whether the plan was premature and whether existing scientific research justified development of the clinics,” Jensen reported.

The Alpha network reflects CIRM’s recent focus on helping researchers convert stem-cell discoveries from the lab into useful treatments for patients with a range of conditions, including Parkinson’s, Type 1 diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

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