Maryland, California announce first-ever bi-coastal agreement to pool stem cell research grants.

The states of Maryland and California have completed the first-ever bicoastal agreement that will enable hundreds of researchers funded by the agencies in each state to pool hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants for their scientists in their respective states.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) , the state's stem cell agency, and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), which administers the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF), announced the agreement at the 2009 World Stem Cell Summit, which was being held in Baltimore during the week of September 21.

The agreement is intended to make it easier for researchers in California and Maryland to collaborate and obtain joint funding to broaden the potential expertise that can be applied toward research in a specific area, the two groups said in a press release. Ultimately, the agreement should allow researchers on both coasts to form teams that will submit joint applications for funding through a process that builds on routine CIRM and TEDCO procedures. For those applications that are approved, CIRM will fund the California researchers and TEDCO will fund the Maryland researchers.

"By forging collaborations with California, we can create together intellectual powerhouse teams to accelerate the search for cures and the development of stem cell based therapies, for the benefit of people across the country and around the world," said Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley.

"I am happy that California's first-in-the-nation investment in stem cell research is furthering this potentially life-saving research with its partnerships across the country and the world," said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

California has the largest program in the world providing funding for stem cell research, with more than $781 million in grants awarded since 2005. By contrast, Maryland's 2006 Stem Cell Research Act has so far funded abut $56 million in grants through the state's Stem Cell Research Fund.

CIRM currently has similar agreements with the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium of Canada, the state of Victoria in Australia, the JST in Japan, the MICINN in Spain, the MRC in the United Kingdom and most recently with the BMBF in Germany. The agreement with Maryland marks the first time it has entered a collaborative relationship with another entity in the US.

TEDCO has 12 collaborative agreements with federal laboratories within and outside the State of Maryland including partnerships with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and The National Institutes for Standards and Technology (NIST).

O'Malley said Maryland has so far funded 141 stem cell research grants involving 350 researchers, physicians, lab technicians and others. Another 700 researchers have benefited through their support roles in the projects, according to the Baltimore Sun.