San Francisco, California - California’s stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has reached a cooperation agreement with Israel’s Center for R&D (MATIMOP) to help advance stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
The agreement, which will be signed in the agency’s offices on December 5th, will lay the foundation for potential Californian-Israeli stem cell research programs, making it easier for researchers to obtain joint funding for their work.
“Israel has long had a robust stem cell research community,” says Jonathan Thomas, Ph.D., J.D., Chair of the stem cell agency’s governing Board. “Through this newly announced collaboration, we hope to generate partnerships between Israeli and California scientists that build on our complementary strengths and generate joint research projects that will benefit patients everywhere."
Dr. Andy David, Consul General of Israel to the Pacific North West sees this official partnership as a quantum leap forward: “It represents a practical expression of shared interests that is unusual for its depth and range. Israel and California are on opposite corners of the globe geographically, but they are practically coming closer every day. The reason for this thriving relationship is the understanding that we are strong mutual assets.”
The signing ceremony will take place at 9am on Friday December 5th at the CIRM office at 210 King Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, 94107.
Michel Hivert, the Managing Director of MATIMOP will be representing Israel for the signing ceremony, and Jonathan Thomas will represent CIRM.
For CIRM this agreement builds on the 16 other international Collaborative Funding Partner (CFP) agreements the agency has developed, including the most recent one, a Memorandum of Understanding with Poland that was signed on Friday, November 21, 2014. Other CFP agreements include the UK, Spain, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, China, Japan, Germany and France. http://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-funding/stem-cell-research-collaborative-funding-agreements
About CIRM: CIRM was established in November 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was overwhelmingly approved by voters, and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities, and other vital research.
About MATIMOP: MATIMOP, the executive agency of the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS), of the Ministry of Economy of Israel is the official National Agency for industrial R&D cooperation in Israel, charged with promoting highly supportive policies to build Israel's industrial infrastructure, and nurturing industrial innovation and entrepreneurship. MATIMOP is the government agency that generates and implements international cooperative industrial R&D programs between Israeli and foreign enterprises.
