Right To Try (RTT)

MD Stem Cells purported Right To Try program

Steven-Levy-Jeffrey-Weiss, SCOTS trial

I’ve been concerned about a stem cell group called MD Stem Cells for many years. Now it comes under more scrutiny from a new must-read piece by Donna Young over at S&P Global. Young’s article reports a puzzling, purported right-to-try (RTT) program that MD Stem Cells appears to working on with Richard Garr. Note that …

MD Stem Cells purported Right To Try program Read More »

Right To Try law has a big loophole that’s an opening for bad actors

piggyback-ride-right-to-try-1

There appears to be a big, risky loophole in the relatively new national Right To Try law. Some folks apparently anticipated this problem long ago, but I think most of us weren’t aware of it. Update: More specifically, some law and policy experts were writing about this and other potential loopholes in 2018. I recommend …

Right To Try law has a big loophole that’s an opening for bad actors Read More »

Richard Garr Q&A on his new Right-To-Try firm Beacon of Hope

NSRichard08-headshot

A new right-to-try company called Beacon of Hope is stirring some intense discussion. State and federal right-to-try laws could potentially change the fabric of how many investigational studies are conducted. That may happen through firms like Beacon of Hope. However, we don’t know much about the firm. I’m hoping to help change that. Today’s post …

Richard Garr Q&A on his new Right-To-Try firm Beacon of Hope Read More »

New Florida bill mixes RTT spirit with turning unproven stem cell sales into a felony

Florida-stem-cells

A new Florida bill (Bill 65 of 2019) could make the practices of stem cell clinics a felony. At the same time it would open the door to patients receiving still experimental stem cells that have at least started the clinical trial process. What’s going on? A number of states have been stepping up action …

New Florida bill mixes RTT spirit with turning unproven stem cell sales into a felony Read More »

Stem cell news July 2018: RMATs, RTT, MiMedx mess, clinic family ties & more

MiMedx

The year of 2018 has already been a wild one for stem cell news. There are many developments on a variety of fronts. Here are some of the most notable news bites of the last month or so. RMATs RMAT Wave. The FDA continues its warp-speed issuance of Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designations with …

Stem cell news July 2018: RMATs, RTT, MiMedx mess, clinic family ties & more Read More »

Helpful Zettler insights from Q&A on FDA suits against stem cell clinics

Patti-Zettler

At the request of the FDA, the DOJ is suing for permanent injunctions against two stem cell clinic firms, U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. and California Stem Cell Treatment Center (and for the latter, its parent chain of around 100 clinics, Cell Surgical Network). What does this big development mean in practical terms and how might it …

Helpful Zettler insights from Q&A on FDA suits against stem cell clinics Read More »

Will Right-To-Try Morph into Right-To-Profit for Stem Cell Clinics?

FDA-RMAT

On one level a reasonable argument can be made for letting terminally ill patients have a right to try experimental as yet unproven therapies, but in the real world Right-To-Try laws have many downsides. On the whole, they are likely to be negative for patients as a group.  Raising the stakes is a push for …

Will Right-To-Try Morph into Right-To-Profit for Stem Cell Clinics? Read More »

Senate Passes Federal Right-To-Try: Poll on Your Opinion

Right-To-Try

The U.S. Senate just passed a bill that if it becomes law would codify Right-To-Try as a federal law, meaning terminally patients across the U.S. could ask their physicians and drug manufacturers to be given still investigational therapies such as still unproven stem cell therapies in development. The bill’s official name is “The Trickett Wendler …

Senate Passes Federal Right-To-Try: Poll on Your Opinion Read More »

Upcoming Right-To-Try debate: NYU’s Roxland and Goldwater’s Sandefur

Right-To-Try-Debate-Roxland-Sandefur

Should patients have the Right To Try experimental therapies that could be unsafe and ineffective? What if those patients have a terminal illness and no reasonable prospects of being helpful to conventional medicine? Doesn’t it make perfect sense to let them try a risky approach if they want to do so? On the other hand, …

Upcoming Right-To-Try debate: NYU’s Roxland and Goldwater’s Sandefur Read More »

Blunt comment from stem cell industry insider in defense of RTT & Texas Law

Texit-stem-cells-e1493612428995

My recent post on the push for National Right-To-Try (RTT) including a detailed comment from ISSCR stirred some animated feedback. In the spirit of encouraging diverse discussion, here I am posting a striking comment I received from a stem cell industry insider regarding that post on RTT as it relates to stem cells and s/he was especially …

Blunt comment from stem cell industry insider in defense of RTT & Texas Law Read More »