After the COVID-19 pandemic started clinical trials quickly sprouted up to test various kinds of cell therapy for COVID-19 including stem cells. The most common rationale for this approach is to suppress damaging overactive immune responses. Trials of cell therapy for COVID-19 including stem cells I’ve written quite a lot about these cellular medicine and […]
Our new paper assessing trials of cell therapy for COVID-19 Read More »
Those of you following the arena of unproven stem cells might recognize the name Dr. Joseph Mercola. He’s a promoter of alternative medicine. Over the years his name has also popped related to the marketing of unproven stem cell offerings in various ways. Now the FDA has warned Joseph Mercola on what it says are unapproved
FDA warns Joseph Mercola on COVID-19 claims Read More »
At times there’s been seriously bad journalism covering COVID-19 itself including implications of various things being a COVID cure. Of course, media coverage of stem cell research itself sometimes ends up being a train-wreck of hype too. More recently we’ve seen irresponsible journalism also around the specific idea of stem cells for COVID-19, but sometimes
Fact-check: F grade for irresponsible stem cell COVID-19 cure piece Read More »
A new paper today in Stem Cells Translational Medicine on a small COVID-19 Phase 1/2a trial using an umbilical cord stem cell product reports a surprising degree of possible efficacy. What’s the scoop here and could there be some hype in the media about this new study such as one of the authors describing the
Small umbilical cord stem cell COVID-19 trial: sign of efficacy? Read More »
I’ve been closely following the arena of stem cells for COVID-19 since the pandemic broke including the efforts of Mesoblast. Mesoblast unlikely to meet primary endpoints in Phase III COVID trial Now, the firm got bad news as its DSMB reported that they are unlikely to meet the primary endpoint for their Phase III trial
Mesoblast stock hit on gloomy data on stem cells for COVID-19 Read More »
The COVID-19 pandemic is tearing through the country right as we are starting into the holiday season, but the wheels of science including cell biology keep going and we keep reading all the great work. What news or papers caught your eye? Here are some of the things I have on my list of reading.
Weekend cell biology reads: Mesoblast COVID-19 deal, pubs Read More »
I’m not a virologist, but I’m still getting asked these days about what the risks might be from the new generation of RNA vaccines for COVID-19. Approaching this question instead as a biologist and genetics/genomics researcher, I can see a handful of at least hypothetical risks. Below I discuss these possible risks and why I’m
Why I’m planning to get a COVID-19 RNA vaccine: low, mostly theoretical risks Read More »
Are Trump and the Republican Party showing major hypocrisy over Trump’s use of experimental COVID-19 therapies in part developed by Regeneron using embryonic and fetal cells? The Internet is kind of blowing up over this. Trump’s collision with stem cells For example, people are directly confronting Trump on Twitter over his recent all caps tweet
Trump, GOP hypocrisy on Regeneron COVID-19 fetal, stem cell work Read More »
What a difference one day can make including in the types of questions I’m getting with this one rising to the top: should President Donald Trump get stem cells for his COVID-19? Whether he should or not, will he get them? This is more than a hypothetical as a surprising number of people in Trump’s
Will Trump get stem cells for COVID-19? Read More »
In my view, it seems likely that the FDA has opened a big can of worms by starting to clear the COVID-19 trials and programs of for-profit stem cell clinics and other related firms. OK to Stemedica trial The FDA just approved another such effort, this one by the firm Stemedica. You can read more about
FDA OK’s more COVID-19 efforts of unproven stem cell clinics Read More »