On May 22, 2020, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) board expanded efforts related to the $5 million in emergency funding for the CIRM COVID-19 program.

The new guidelines mean that inception discovery projects (DISC1), whose goal is developing new and transformational ideas, will now be eligible for CIRM COVID-19 funding. These projects can receive up to $150,000 and must have data to confirm or reject their hypothesis within 6 months. In addition to this, quest discovery projects (DISC2), which promote the discovery of new technologies that could be translated to enable broad use, can now receive up to $250,000 in funding.

The Board approved using $1 million from the program in supplemental support for CIRM-funded COVID-19 clinical trials. Under the change an existing clinical trial can receive up to $250,000 in additional funding but must demonstrate sufficient progress and specific activities in order to be eligible. The Board will also require that all clinical trial projects include a plan for outreach and study participation by underserved and disproportionately affected populations.

The Board also strongly encouraged those that meet the stem cell component for vaccine development for COVID-19 to apply for funding.