I finished listening to the first 6 episodes of the Bad Batch podcast last week. The series is by medical journalist Laura Beil. I think there will be a 7th episode that’s a Q&A. I highly recommend listening to the series even if parts are wrenching at times like how much patients and families have […]
Bad Batch podcast’s dark picture of perinatal stem cell industry Read More »
I’m relatively new to podcasts, but am enjoying a new stem cell-focused one called Bad Batch by medical journalist Laura Beil, which I’ve been listening to in the car as I commute. I just finished episode three. I’m curious to hear how the next few episodes of the story unfold. I talked and emailed with
Bad Batch podcast is must listen for stem cell community Read More »
The stem cell clinic arena is a Wild West but perhaps few have been wilder than the perinatal stem cell clinic firm Liveyon run by John Kosolcharoen. Now John Kosolcharoen has pleaded guilty to felony charges related to Liveyon’s activities including distribution of an unapproved cell therapy drug. He will be sentenced next month. This
Liveyon leader John Kosolcharoen pleads to federal felony charges on stem cells Read More »
The big news broke Friday that the FDA approved two new gene therapies for sickle cell disease. While the approvals were expected and the actual use of these treatments will be complex on several levels, this is a historic development. 2 FDA-approved gene therapies for sickle cell Friday’s news follows on recent UK approval for
Before starting the umbilical cord cell supplier and marketing firm Liveyon, John Kosolcharoen was involved in some alleged health care fraud. The feds brought a case against him related to prescription drugs. Older case coming to a head As Liveyon was having its misadventures in the stem cell clinic sphere, the status of that past
Feds want $3M, prison for Liveyon founder in old fraud case Read More »
When I read about Elizabeth Holmes and her blood testing startup Theranos I see parallels to hucksters in the arena of stem cells and cell therapy. I’m thinking especially of the unproven stem cell clinics out there. It goes farther than that though too, including people who aren’t hucksters at all but get caught up
Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos, & lessons for the stem cell field Read More »
Stem cell clinics and suppliers have been getting into the business of making promotional films to generate more revenue, but now there’s something very different in the cinematic stem cell arena called From Jail Cell to Stem Cell by filmmaker Doug Orchard. It is at its heart an exposé film about some in my view particularly concerning stem
Review of clinic exposé film From Jail Cell to Stem Cell Read More »
Remember our old friends Liveyon? Their leader John Kosolcharoen? Liveyon’s continuing metamorphosis This biologics supply firm has gone through several stages of corporate metamorphosis as a supplier of biologics including at first a purported living umbilical cord stem cell product. That stem cell thrust ultimately landed a dozen or more people in the hospital as
Liveyon is back (again) with unproven exosome product Read More »
What’s Liveyon up to these days? A new, somewhat mysterious short film that serves as an advertisement for unproven exosomes has some of us scratching our heads. It seems to point to Liveyon. Can you guys as readers of The Niche help solve the puzzle of who’s behind this wild “cinematic commercial” and what the
Mystery of wild sci-fi film ad for unproven exosomes: Liveyon? Read More »
Umbilical “stem cell” supplier Liveyon has suspended sales of its products according to the WaPo after a harsh FDA warning letter. While not fully shutting off the tap to the perinatal stem cell clinic universe, as other suppliers including in Utah seem to be continuing, this Liveyon voluntary hold will equal a major reduction in
Why did clinic supplier Liveyon halt sales but others kept going despite FDA? Read More »