In a story postdated to Monday, October 19, 2009, The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) revealed it has signed an agreement to collaborate on stem cell research with China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

The announcement was little more than a headline. Details will most likely be released on Monday.

CIRM was established in 2004 with a $3 billion budget earmarked for funding research on stem cells. CIRM’s charter required that the money would be spent over a ten-year period, and grants would be given only to California-based institutions, both public and private. It is not clear how CIRM will cooperate with MOST, given the second provision.

Opponents of the initiative kept CIRM tangled up in legal proceedings for its first two years of existence, slowing the release of the first grants, though they are now being announced on a regular schedule. The majority of the first grants are being given to California academic institutions (not to private companies). The universities and institutes are using much of the initial round to build new facilities dedicated solely to stem cell research.

See our other articles on CIRM.

Disclosure: none.