Editorials: Stem Cell Agency Should Require Financial Disclosure
Two newspapers recently published editorials addressing Proposition 71 -- approved by voters in 2004 to fund stem cell research -- and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Summaries appear below.
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Sacramento Bee: Requiring "scientists reviewing multimillion-dollar grants to disclose publicly any interest in companies that could benefit from those grants ... should be the bottom line for any changes in Proposition 71," a Bee editorial states. The Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee "should begin discussing such a change," which "would do much to ensure the integrity of [CIRM] and put it on a less contentious path," according to the Bee (Sacramento Bee, 6/2).
- San Jose Mercury News: The state should "hammer out a compromise" on the "remaining oversight issues" while legal challenges delay the release of Proposition 71 funds, according to a Mercury News editorial. The editorial states that "disclosing financial conflicts at all levels of grant review is necessary to maintain the integrity of the research and use of public dollars." In addition, resolving "oversight issues now will greatly reduce the chances of an unnecessary, bigger fight in the years to come," according to the Mercury News (San Jose Mercury News, 6/1).