Month: July 2013

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Gets Problematic FDA Inspection Report

I have some interest in robotic surgery. About three and a half years ago I had surgery for prostate cancer and my surgeon used the da Vinci robotic surgery device made by Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG). At the time, da Vinci seemed new and exciting, but the device and the company have become more well-known …

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Janet Rossant, ISSCR President, on her goals, cloning, non-compliant clinics, iPS cells, and future of field

New ISSCR President, Dr. Janet Rossant, kindly agreed to do an interview with me focused on the future of ISSCR, her plans for her tenure, and some key issues in the field. Dr. Rossant is Chief of Research at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. 1. The stem cell arena is a very rapidly changing one …

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FDA still investigating clinic firm Celltex

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In response to a FOIA request, the FDA informed me that they are continuing to investigate Texas stem cell clinic, Celltex. The firm has been flying somewhat under the radar lately. They have not responded to multiple requests for comments on various issues. The FDA indicated to me that what they can release in terms …

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Perspectives on human micro-liver-like structures made from iPS cells

The big stem cell buzz the last day or two has been the news exploding across mainstream media outlets about laboratory-produced human livers grown from stem cells. It’s good news to be sure as it would seem we might be one important step closer to a new reality for millions of people suffering from liver disease. …

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Rip Van Wrinkle: Olay-funded stem cell research on supposed ‘fountain of youth’

I predict that cosmetics firm Olay will announce an anti-aging cosmetic product specifically based on stem cells in some way soon. But can stem cell technology now really make you younger? No, according to the best science; maybe at some point in the future. Yes, according to a hypeful HuffPost piece, which discussed work by a …

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Update on XCell Stem Cell Clinic Insider

A commenter on this blog who self-identified as “InsideXcell” has been commenting on this blog about what happened at the highly controversial German stem cell clinic, XCell-Center. By way of background, the XCell-Center was for a time the largest stem cell clinic in all of Europe before it was shutdown. A baby who received care …

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BioTime CEO Mike West Interview Part 2: Geron & hESC

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When you want to both know the real history of the pluripotent stem cell-based biotech industry and perspectives on its future, there are only a handful of people to turn to and one of them is definitely Dr. Michael West, CEO of BioTime. I’m doing a several part series of blog posts on a lengthy …

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