Six California stem cell biotech companies received more than $5 million in funding last week from the state's stem cell funding body -- the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), according to a news release from the agency.

The money represents the first major pay out to companies from the state's $3 billion research enterprise. Until now, only Novocell Inc. had received a small grant of $50,000.

The grants are part of 23 grants and nearly $20 million awarded to California institutions for the development of tools and technologies to overcome barriers in stem cell research.

Three companies who weren't awarded money filed petitions last week as the
working group was finalizing its granting decisions, complaining that the grant allocations were biased toward academic institutions. CIRM
President Alan Trounson, however, said he could not find "compelling evidence" to change the score of any of the applications, or the decision of the CIRM working group that allocates the funding, according to The California Stem Cell Report

The companies who won the grants are Novocell, VistaGen Therapeutics, Fluidigm Corp., Gamma-Medica Ideas, Novocell Inc., Invitrogen, and Vala Sciences.


Related stories:

Calif. stem cell agency back on track?
[4 October 2007]

CIRM cuts ten grants
[7 December 2007]

CIRM to pay for eggs?
[27 March 2008]