CNN stumbled badly on its recent article on Celltex, a Texas-owned stem cell clinic that has seen more than its share of controversy over the years including tangles with the FDA. As a result, the company has moved its clinical operations to Mexico where oversight is more lax. Their customers include American patients in Mexico beyond the reach of the FDA.
Those receiving the non-FDA approved stem cell “treatments” in Mexico include at least one pediatric patient. Recently Celltex has been the subject of favorable media stories that report unproven outcomes that nonetheless portray the Celltex stem cells as working like a charm. I have written before about Celltex had partnered with the Arthritis Foundation in PR efforts.
Now CNN has published this warm and fuzzy story about Celltex’s focus on juvenile arthritis patients. The unbalanced story says nothing about Celltex’s run in with the FDA, that the company moved to Mexico to avoid FDA oversight, the fact that the offerings of Celltex are unproven, and that Celltex customers could face risks from the stem cells that they purchase.
In short, CNN only gives one side to the story. I’m glad that the two patients mentioned in the story are currently feeling better, but there’s more to the situation than just that.
I would hope that news coverage of stem cell clinics would be more balanced and give readers including potential patients the full stories.
Knoepflezrr, This is exactly the utterly biased commentary on this blog that patients find disgusting.
Why are you so concerned now about the patients? I am not sure if you really are so concerned, or just advancing your own career, but you sure wail at every opportunity. Why cannot you see the improvements in the patients. Patients benefited HUGELY in the Celltex treatments, do you not see. Contrast your reaction in this post to your orgasmic prose on Stem cell Inc’s clinical trial where almost a billion purified neural stem cells were randomly injected directly into the brain of a PMD child with unknown/tiny responses but carrying a HUGE risk of long term adverse effects. How about millions of cells injected into the spine of patients in Stem Cell Inc’s other trial with minimal or no benefit?? Are you not aware that the more you multiply stem cells, the more they accumulate mutations and thus a billion cells are expected to carry many mutations that could cause harm? Besides, How much are tax payers paying for those trials?
What is so unproven, given the benefit to patient, about Celltex treatment and what is so proven with Stem Cells Inc trial for it to continue down that path of injecting cells into brains of children??
Good app thank you
With five days to Christmas you’re only going to get feelgood factor(y) stories from the networks. Such reports are always out there so they’re obviously short on cheery stories.
We know in the long run clinical trials will define the appropriate use of stem cells and institutes and companies running trials will generate huge amounts of intellectual property. The FDA regulations and patent law will then lead to the demise of unregulated clinics as profits fall and patients can get the therapies they need at a fraction of the price they now paying for a shot in the dark.
Expect CNN to be outraged at the next death by unregulated stem cell treatment. But not before mid-January.