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CIRM presents strategic reprioritization, DEI measures and patient-assistance pilot
Summary
CIRM President Jonathan Thomas told the CFAOC that the agency is repositioning its Prop 14 funds toward basic research, tools, rare-disease BLA-stage projects and access programs; he described DEI scoring for grants, a $15.6 million seed for a patient-assistance fund (now >$16M), and plans for community care centers and education initiatives.
Jonathan Thomas, president and CEO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), presented a strategic-plan update to the Citizens Financial Accountability Oversight Committee on Dec. 18, 2024, outlining a reprioritization of remaining Prop 14 funds and new program pilots aimed at improving access, equity and workforce development.
Thomas summarized CIRM's evolution from the original Prop 71 funding to Prop 14, noting that the agency now manages roughly $8.5 billion in voter-authorized funding. He described a multi-pillar allocation framework that emphasizes discovery/basic research, tools and technologies (for example, gene editing), rare-disease projects targeted for biologics license application (BLA) advancement, later-stage trials for more prevalent conditions, and programs focused on accessibility, affordability and workforce development.
On equity, Thomas said CIRM integrates DEI into grant review and program design. "DEI permeates everything we do," he said, describing application scoring that includes patient-advocate reviewers who evaluate DEI components and can affect funding recommendations. He cited a prior instance where a project with strong science but a weak DEI score was returned for improvement and later funded after DEI elements were strengthened.
Thomas and staff also described programmatic pilots. CIRM has created a licensing and royalties fund intended in part to support patient-assistance programs; the first significant revenue deposit to the patient-assistance fund was about $15.6 million (reported in the meeting as now over $16 million). Staff said CIRM recently contracted a third party to administer the patient-assistance program (to support travel, lodging and other trial participation costs) and that pilot expenditures will begin as the program ramps up.
Other initiatives Thomas highlighted include expansion of the alpha clinics network and a planned pilot for community care centers of excellence to bring clinical-trial access to communities without local academic trial sites. He noted large education investments (about $650 million historically) across high-school through postdoctoral programs to develop a diverse biotechnology workforce.
Thomas described a recently completed strategic reallocation process that will be implemented as concept plans and program announcements over the coming year, followed by requests for applications for new grant programs. Committee members asked about measurement of DEI results, ensuring patient-access dollars reach underrepresented groups, and the relationship between licensing revenues and the growth of the patient-assistance fund; CIRM staff described scoring, monitoring and a staged implementation tied to revenue flow.
The CFAOC received the update as an informational item; implementation steps (concept plans, RFAs and awards) will be reported back to the committee in future meetings.
