The agreement will make it easier for researchers in California and Germany to obtain joint funding to broaden the potential pool of expertise that can be applied toward research in a specific area. It is expected that researchers in both jurisdictions will be invited to form teams that will apply jointly for funding through a process that builds upon routine CIRM and BMBF procedures. For those that are approved, CIRM will fund the California researchers and BMBF will fund the German researchers.

“The field of immunology is enormously important to progressing cell-based therapies to the clinic, but it has equally vast challenges to overcome; these challenges will benefit greatly from broad collaborations pulling the best minds into unified teams,” said CIRM’s Trounson. “One of CIRM’s primary goals is to accelerate the field of stem cell research as a whole, and in some instances we can do this more effectively through collaborations that involve the best scientific endeavors, regardless of geography.”

The long-term objective of this research area is to thoroughly understand the mechanisms of regenerative processes in order to develop improved therapies. To do so, first of all the potential risks of using stem cells or precursor cells in regenerative medicine must be clarified. Research in this area is of course only possible within the corresponding national legislation depending on the funding body or the place where research is carried out. In future, these newly developed therapies will enable a more comprehensive patient care in the area of biological replacements of organ functions, in particular in application areas where transplantation is currently not possible.

Regarding regenerative medicine Germany’s science and industry sector take a leading position on the international scale. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Science Foundation (DFG) prepared the ground for this by investing 230 million Euros since 1990 in research in this field. CIRM and BMBF are discussing other potential collaborative activities including workshops, symposia, exchange of researchers, and young scientist training opportunities.

“Germany is a world leader in biomedical research,” noted Robert Klein, chairman of the CIRM governing board. “Germany will now join five other nations—the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Spain and Japan—as a partner with California in accelerating critical stem cell research to relieve the suffering of patients and families throughout the world.”