CIRM awards $27 million to launch novel program designed to bring cell and gene therapies to underserved California communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amy Adams Senior Director of Communications [email protected]

South San Francisco, Calif., October 30, 2025 - The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has approved awarding $27 million through three grants across the state to create a network of Community Care Centers of Excellence (CCCEs). The CCCE program is the first of its kind designed to make regenerative medicine clinical trials accessible for Californians who live far from major medical centers where most clinical trials are administered. Each center will also offer training and career development for both the delivery of treatments and wider patient support services required in the expanding field of regenerative medicine.

The CCCE awards are designed to create hubs that expand the geographic reach of centers delivering clinical trials and approved regenerative medicine therapies, extending access across California. The clinical trials range from therapies for prevalent diseases like Parkinson's and cancer to rare diseases like sickle cell disease, autoimmune diseases, or ultra rare genetic diseases.

Award details

Expanding Access

Clinical trials offer patients the chance to receive next-generation treatments, but they can be hard to access by people who do not live near major medical centers. People in remote parts of the state may have less experience with clinical trials or regenerative medicine, or might not have regular access to medical professionals who could provide referrals to clinical trials. The CCCEs help overcome these barriers and are a critical part of CIRM's efforts to address access to regenerative medicine clinical trials and therapies.

CIRM was created by voters in 2004 through California's Proposition 71, and extended in 2020 through Proposition 14, to accelerate therapies for unmet medical needs. The agency funds stem cell and gene therapy research (collectively called regenerative medicine) from the earliest stages through clinical trials to advance therapies equitably for people in California and the world. Beyond funding research, CIRM supports programs like the CCCEs to make regenerative medicine therapies accessible and affordable to people in California.

Following a statewide needs assessment and continued community feedback, CIRM found that expanding access to regenerative medicine in California would require addressing social determinants of health, including non-medical factors like location, income, insurance coverage, and other social and economic conditions that vary across regions and populations.

"It is essential that we bring access to clinical trials, treatments, and cures resulting from CIRM-funded research to people in underserved areas," said Maria Gonzalez Bonneville, CIRM Chair of the Access & Affordability Working Group and Board Vice Chair. "Ensuring every Californian, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status, has access to these life-changing treatments is a core part of CIRM's vision."

The CCCEs will launch by early 2026 and will involve community-based partnerships that address informational, economic, or social determinants impacting access to or participation in research.

The CCCEs are part of CIRM's Clinical Infrastructure program, which also includes Alpha Clinics and a Patient Support Program, that together help people in California find, enroll, and participate in clinical trials. The majority of CIRM-funded clinical trials currently enroll patients at one or more Alpha Clinic sites. This Network includes nine world-class medical centers throughout California with a common goal of streamlining and accelerating the delivery of cell and gene therapies to patients who need them. They run clinical trials funded by CIRM, as well as clinical trials funded by other organizations. The Patient Support Program provides logistical and financial support for California patients to increase enrollment and retention in clinical trials.

"Expanding the reach of CIRM's clinical programs is essential to engaging more patients in clinical trials," said Rosa Canet-Avilés, PhD, Chief Science Officer at CIRM. "The CCCEs will be another crucial part of the infrastructure for accelerating the delivery of therapies to patients that complement our existing Alpha Clinics Network and CIRM Patient Support Program."

About the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)

CIRM was created by the people of California to fund stem cell and gene therapy research with the goal of accelerating treatments for patients with unmet medical needs. With $5.5 billion in funding allocated through both Proposition 71 in 2004 and Proposition 14 in 2020, CIRM supports stem cell and gene therapy discoveries from inception through clinical trials, trains a workforce in California to fill jobs in the state's thriving biotech and biomedical research industry, and creates infrastructure to make clinical trials accessible for people throughout California. All of CIRM's research, workforce development, and infrastructure programs are designed to benefit the people of California, whose vision created the agency. For more information, visit https://www.cirm.ca.gov.