INSTITUTION PROFILE / iPS CELLS & REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
CIRM (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine)
A state agency, created by a public vote, that hands out money for regenerative medicine
CIRM is a California state agency. It was created by a 2004 ballot measure (Proposition 71) and received further funding from Proposition 14 in 2020. It makes neither cells nor therapies itself. Its job is to allocate money raised through state bonds, stage by stage, from early research to clinical trials. It has no regulatory or approval powers. This profile asks one question: how much influence CIRM really has over iPS cells and regenerative medicine, looking at the size of its funding and how far that funding reaches.
- CIRM in 30 seconds
- What kind of body it is: the four types of influence
- What it does for iPS cells and regenerative medicine
- How far its influence reaches (powers and geography)
- The flow of money, and the iPS cell bank
- Outlook
- Glossary, references and claim-to-source audit
1. CIRM in 30 seconds
CIRM's power comes not from regulation but from bond money that the people of California voted to release. Proposition 71 provided US$3 billion and Proposition 14 provided US$5.5 billion, together US$8.5 billion in general obligation bonds Sourced. The money is finite: at the time of its 2024 allocation framework, US$3.86 billion was left Sourced. In iPS cells, CIRM spent about US$32 million on a bank of 2,600 iPS cell lines and distributed them worldwide, but use fell short of expectations and the bank closed in July 2025 Sourced. If revenue cannot sustain a resource that public money built, it is wound down. That is how an agency running on finite public funds behaves.
2. What kind of body it is: the four types of influence
Unlike the companies in this series, the institutions that appear in iPS cell and regenerative medicine coverage do not sell products. What separates them is the route by which they influence the industry, and that gives four types.
3. What it does for iPS cells and regenerative medicine
CIRM distributes funding across five pillars: discovery, translation, clinical work, infrastructure and education Sourced. The approved budget for FY2025-26 (US$505.7 million) breaks down as follows.
| Pillar | FY2025-26 budget | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | US$158.2 million | Early basic research into how stem cells and genes work |
| Translational | US$160.0 million | Assembling the basic data needed to apply for a clinical trial (now called preclinical development) |
| Clinical | US$135.0 million | Funding to carry clinical trials through to completion |
| Infrastructure | US$51.0 million | Facilities and networks such as shared research labs, a manufacturing network and clinical sites |
| Education | US$1.5 million | Training the next generation of regenerative medicine researchers and technicians |
| Specific programme | What it covers | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical trial awards (CLIN2) | Supports completion of Phase 1 to 3 clinical trials. Awards range from US$8 million to US$15 million and run for up to four years. CIRM expects to make 9 to 16 awards in FY2026-27. It says it has funded more than 100 clinical trials to date | Sourced |
| Building the iPS cell bank (2013 to 2018) | Nine awards totalling US$32 million. 2,600 iPS cell lines from 2,184 donors were made by a single, uniform method and distributed worldwide from September 2015. CIRM owns the cell lines; FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics has run the bank since 2018 | Sourced |
| Closing the iPS cell bank (2025) | The operator gave notice that its contract would end on 16 July 2025. Transferring the bank would have cost about US$400,000, and keeping it going about US$300,000 a year, which revenue could not cover, so the bank was closed. CIRM keeps a small amount of each line | Sourced |
| Clinical sites, shared labs and manufacturing network | The Alpha Clinics (nine medical institutions), 11 shared research labs (more than US$48 million) and a manufacturing network linking nine GMP facilities (US$18 million) | Sourced |
4. How far its influence reaches (powers and geography)
| Aspect | What CIRM has | What it does not have |
|---|---|---|
| Powers | The power to run open calls, review applications and allocate state bond money. Its board (the ICOC) sets the funding plan and research direction | Approval of regenerative medicine products (in the United States, FDA's job). CIRM states explicitly that it does not recommend joining any particular clinical trial |
| Geography | Centred on organisations in California. Most calls are open only to a "California Organization" | General funding for organisations outside the state. The exception is the CLIN2 clinical trial awards, which organisations outside California may apply for, with limits on the costs that can be funded |
| Time horizon | The funds authorised by Propositions 71 and 14 | The power to add more funding (we could not confirm any mechanism for doing so) |
| Scale | An approved budget of about US$500 million a year. US$3.86 billion remained as of 2024 | Staff numbers are unknown within the sources checked for this article |
CIRM's official pages also carry large figures for private investment and jobs generated from CIRM funding (for example "more than US$25 billion"). These are economic-impact estimates published by CIRM, which is a different thing from audited results, and we do not use them here. The clinical trial count above (more than 100) and the nine Alpha Clinics are likewise CIRM's own tallies, and we have not had them independently verified Not yet confirmed.
5. The flow of money, and the iPS cell bank
The purpose of the iPS cell bank was to model diseases with complex genetic backgrounds, such as Alzheimer's disease and liver disease, using iPS cells. The memorandum gives these reasons for closing it: the cell lines were distributed to both academia and industry, but the amount used fell short of expectations, and annual revenue did not cover running costs Sourced. Of the companies covered in this series, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics produced and operated the bank.
6. Outlook
| What the evidence suggests | Primary information it rests on | Category |
|---|---|---|
| CIRM's funding will shift its weight towards the clinical stage and neurological disease | The 2024 allocation framework earmarks US$1.14 billion of the remaining US$3.86 billion for neurological disease research, and sets targets of 4 to 7 Biologics License Applications (BLAs) for rare diseases and 15 to 20 projects reaching late-stage trials | Inference |
| Shared resources that revenue cannot sustain, like the iPS cell bank, are likely to be scaled back or closed | The bank was closed because use fell short of expectations and CIRM would otherwise have carried the running costs indefinitely | Inference |
| Whether the state will provide new funding once the Proposition 14 money runs out | The funding under both Propositions 71 and 14 was decided by public vote. We found no official plan for further funding within the sources checked | Not yet confirmed |
7. Glossary
- Proposition 71 / Proposition 14
- California ballot measures. Proposition 71 created CIRM in 2004 with US$3 billion, and Proposition 14 added US$5.5 billion in 2020.
- General obligation bonds
- Bonds issued by the state with a pledge to repay them. CIRM's funding comes from them.
- ICOC
- The Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee, which acts as CIRM's governing board and has up to 35 members.
- Alpha Clinics
- A network of nine medical institutions, supported by CIRM, with experience in regenerative medicine clinical trials.
- CLIN2
- CIRM's clinical trial awards, which support completion of Phase 1 to 3 trials.
- FDA
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which approves regenerative medicine products. It is a separate organisation from CIRM.
8. References
- CIRM About Us: Proposition 71 and Proposition 14, US$8.5 billion in total general obligation bonds, and the move into a third decade. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/
- CIRM Our Mission: US$3 billion from Proposition 71 and US$5.5 billion from Proposition 14 in 2020. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/our-mission/
- CIRM Impact Across California: established 2004, more than 100 clinical trials, nine Alpha Clinics. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-impact/
- CIRM Our Governing Board: the ICOC, a board of up to 35 members. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/governing-board/
- CIRM 2025 Annual Report: budgets for FY2024-25 and FY2025-26, the US$3.86 billion remaining, shared labs, the manufacturing network and the headquarters location. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/remediated_CIRM24_Annual-Report25_100125.pdf
- CIRM Strategic Allocation Framework: how the remaining funds are to be allocated, and six goals. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/strategic-goals/
- CIRM Clinical Trial (CLIN2) Awards: award size, duration, eligibility and the expected number of awards in FY2026-27. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/clin2/
- CIRM Grants Management FAQ: calls open only to a "California Organization", and CLIN2, which organisations outside the state may apply for. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/grants-management-faq/
- CIRM IPSC Repository: closed on 17 July 2025, run by FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/researchers/ipsc-repository/
- CIRM Memorandum: CIRM iPSC Repository Closure (dated 20 May 2025): the size and cost of the iPS cell bank, and the reasons for closing it. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Memo-CIRM-iPSC-Bank-Closure-0520-2025.pdf
- CIRM Find Cell & Gene Therapy Trials: the note that CIRM does not recommend joining any particular clinical trial. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/clinical-trials/
9. Claim-to-source audit
| Claim in the article | Category | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition 71 (2004, US$3 billion, 59%) and Proposition 14 (2020, US$5.5 billion), and US$8.5 billion in general obligation bonds in total | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/ |
| CIRM's mission, and the amounts of Propositions 71 and 14 | Sourced | Reference 2 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/our-mission/ |
| Establishment in 2004, funding for more than 100 clinical trials, nine Alpha Clinics | Sourced | Reference 3 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-impact/ |
| The ICOC board has up to 35 members | Sourced | Reference 4 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/about-cirm/governing-board/ |
| Budgets for FY2024-25 and FY2025-26 and their breakdown, US$3.86 billion remaining, 11 shared labs (more than US$48 million), the US$18 million manufacturing network, headquarters location | Sourced | Reference 5 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/remediated_CIRM24_Annual-Report25_100125.pdf |
| Allocation framework targets (US$1.14 billion for neurological disease, 4 to 7 BLAs, 15 to 20 late-stage trials) | Sourced | Reference 6 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/strategic-goals/ |
| CLIN2 award size, duration, eligibility and expected number of awards | Sourced | Reference 7 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/clin2/ |
| Calls open only to a "California Organization", and CLIN2, which organisations outside the state may apply for | Sourced | Reference 8 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/grants-management-faq/ |
| The closing date of the iPS cell bank, and its operator | Sourced | Reference 9 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/researchers/ipsc-repository/ |
| The size of the iPS cell bank (2,600 lines, 2,184 donors, US$32 million), and the reasons for and costs of closing it | Sourced | Reference 10 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Memo-CIRM-iPSC-Bank-Closure-0520-2025.pdf |
| The note that CIRM does not recommend joining any particular clinical trial | Sourced | Reference 11 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/clinical-trials/ |
| That CIRM publishes economic-impact estimates (more than US$25 billion and similar), and that they are CIRM's own tallies | Sourced | Reference 3 https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-impact/ |
| The four types of institution, and the groupings in Fig. 2 | Our calculation | Our own classification in this article |
| Staff numbers, any mechanism for adding funds, future prospects, and independent verification of CIRM's tallies | Not yet confirmed | Not stated in references 1 to 11; this article does not estimate them |
| The two inferences in the outlook (section 6) | Inference | This article's reading of references 5, 6 and 10 |
Last updated 1 October 2026 / Troy Technical
All figures come from CIRM's official website and annual report and from the memorandum to its board. Items marked "Inference" are this article's reading of the primary information, not statements by CIRM.