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“$3,000,000 to Cellerant Therapeutics, Inc. for Myeloid Progenitor for Acute Radiation Syndrome”

Sponsors: Rep. Eshoo (D-CA) Rep. Lantos (D-CA)  

(2 Comments)

Recipient Web Site:  Recipient Address:  ^(Flag) Recipient address as provided by Sponsor(s): (courtesy of Taxpayers for Common Sense) Short Description of Recipient Organization:  Are Top Personnel Listed on the Site?  Is the Project Mentioned on the Site?  Does the Recipient have Federal Contracts?  Does the Recipient have Federal Grants?  Link to the Recipient's Federal Grants (Fedspending.org):  Have employees of the recipient collectively contributed more than $20,000 to candidates for federal office during the current and last election cycle?:  Does a sponsoring member take credit?  Did the recipient hire federal lobbyists?  URL of Lobbying Data from OpenSecrets  Research contributed by:

V3 wrote:

Rep. Eshoo uses fear tactics to rationalize the extraordinary expenditures, primarily nuclear terrorist attacks. Cellerant pays $20-40k year to lobbyist Policy Directions, Inc., which in turn spends over $1 million/year in recent years lobbying for "business services" and whose clients include http://opensecrets.org/lobbyists/firmsum.asp?txtname=Policy+Directions+Inc&year=2007: National Pork Producers Council, National Renderers Assoc., Farm Animal Welfare Coalition, American Feed Industry, Nestle, and another lobbyist firm, Turner Strategies.

Turner Strategies seems to have no other client but Policy Directions.

posted November 1, 2007 at 6:37 a.m.

V3 wrote:

Rep. Eshoo's justification:
http://eshoo.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=268&Itemid=102

One example is Cellerant Therapeutics in San Carlos. The "Valley of Death" funding gap has slowed development of a drug that could treat radiation victims after a "dirty bomb" explosion. Cellerant is trying to fill the gap with venture capital, but as CEO Bruce Cohen testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which I'm a member of, "it takes an enormous amount of time and effort, and our investors are not prepared to have us use their capital for a program whose financing is beyond the control of the commercial pharmaceutical market."

Earlier this year, I joined with Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and introduced the Biodefense and Pandemic Drug Development Act (HR5533) to accelerate drug and vaccine development and bridge the "Valley of Death."

posted November 1, 2007 at 6:40 a.m.