The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine was never supposed to last infinitely, but a new ballot initiative could extend its lifespan, Nature reports.
What you should know:
1. CIRM opened in 2004 with $3 billion allocated for grants. The institute expects to run out of money in 2019, and could close permanently after administering the last of its multiyear grants in 2022.
2. However, stem cell advocates are organizing and attempting to advance a $5.5 billion ballot initiative to fund the institute further. Advocacy group Americans for Cures plans to form a nonprofit lobbying arm this fall to push for the proposal.
3. A similar ballot initiative established CIRM in 2004.
4. Early polls are encouraging, with some 70 percent of residents approving of the plan, according to Americans for Cures founder and chair Robert Klein, who chaired CIRM from 2004-11.
5. CIRM has long been recognized for funding some of the most influential research on stem cells.