CIRM Board Expands COVID-19 Efforts

Oakland, CA – Today the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) expanded the eligibility criteria for COVID-19 related projects to develop new treatments against the virus.  Just two weeks ago, the Board approved $5 million in emergency funding for COVID-19 research.

One major addition is allowing research related to convalescent plasma to be eligible for CIRM COVID-19 emergency funding.  Plasma is a component of blood that carries cells and antibodies.  Blood plasma from patients that have recovered from COVID-19, referred to as convalescent plasma, contains antibodies against the virus and could be used as a potential treatment for COVID-19 patients.

In addition to this, potential clinical studies of convalescent plasma are now approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) single-patient emergency Investigational New Drug (eIND) pathway as opposed to only a traditional IND.  Before treatments can be tested in humans, a traditional IND needs to be filed.  In an emergency situation such as the coronavirus pandemic, an eIND can be filed to begin testing the treatment faster.

In order to address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underserved communities, priority will be given to projects that directly address these disparities. 

Lastly, potential clinical programs for COVID-19 are now approved to start incurring allowable project costs, at risk, from the date of the application submission deadline.  This would give researchers the opportunity to start their projects earlier and cover project costs retroactively if they are approved for funding.

“The intent behind this amendment is to be responsive to this COVID-19 crisis by leveraging CIRM’s funding programs, processes, and infrastructure within the scientific ecosystem that it has supported to date,” said Maria T. Millan, M.D., President and CEO of CIRM. “By providing an opportunity for the medical and scientific community to gather important data while using convalescent plasma treatment protocols on an emergency basis, CIRM is joining the global effort to expedite treatments to patients in need in the midst of this global pandemic.”

CIRM has established an open call for proposals and will accept applications on a bi-monthly basis.

 

Please refer to the following Program Announcement for more details:

·      Special Call for COVID-19 Projects

 

To Submit an Application:

1.    Go to the Grants Management Portal (https://grants.cirm.ca.gov) and log in with your existing CIRM Username and Password. If you do not have a Username, Click on the “New User” link and follow the instructions to create a CIRM Username and password.

 

2.    After logging in, click on the Menu tab. Select the tab labeled “Open Programs“. Under the section labeled “RFAs and Programs Open for Applications“, click on the “Start a Grant Application” link for your selected program.

 

3.    Complete each section of the Application by clicking on the appropriate link and following the posted instructions. Proposal templates can be located and submitted under the “Uploads” section.

 

4.    To submit your Application, click on the “Done with Application” button. The “Done with Application” button will be enabled when all of the mandatory sections have been completed. Please note that once this has been selected, you will no longer be able to make changes to your Application.

 

5.     confirm submission of your Application, select the tab labeled “Your Applications” and check the table under the section labeled “Your Submitted Applications“. You will see your Application number and project title listed once the submission process has been completed.

 

 

 

About CIRM

 

At CIRM, we never forget that we were created by the people of California to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs, and act with a sense of urgency to succeed in that mission.

To meet this challenge, our team of highly trained and experienced professionals actively partners with both academia and industry in a hands-on, entrepreneurial environment to fast track the development of today’s most promising stem cell technologies.

With $3 billion in funding and approximately 300 active stem cell programs in our portfolio, CIRM is the world’s largest institution dedicated to helping people by bringing the future of cellular medicine closer to reality.

For more information go to www.cirm.ca.gov