The FDA issued a historic statement today promising to more clearly define its regulatory policies on stem cell therapies and to take strong action on some stem cell clinics that it views as “bad actors”. I’ve never the FDA use such clear-cut language before. I give big kudos to new FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. It already […]
Six questions as FDA takes new shot at stem cell clinics Read More »
Over the years I’ve been keeping my eyes open for advertising by stem cell clinics and lately the trend is big splashy ads in mainstream media including large daily newspapers such as the SacBee, the San Francisco Chronicle, and now the Seattle times (see below from today’s). These kinds of big ad buys on front or
Money talks: stem cell clinic ads mushrooming in mainstream media Read More »
There has been relatively limited response from clinics themselves to the Cell Stem Cell paper that Leigh Turner and I published recently on the scope of the stem cell clinic industry in the U.S. We found 570 stem cell clinics and there could easily be 50-100 more that escaped our search methods or that have
Some stem cell clinics respond with ‘not me, them’ Read More »
What should the stem cell field try to do about cowboy stem cell clinics? By this term I mean those that don’t follow the rules. They shoot stem cells into customers first and ask questions later. I’ve interacted with many patients over the years who are interested in stem cells. This interaction is growing much
Dilemmas When Patients Ponder Cowboy Stem Cell Clinics Read More »
When I started blogging in 2010 the stem cell arena was a very different place including the fact I could count the number of US stem cell clinics on one hand. This blog, called The Niche for many years, was just “Knoepfler Stem Cell Blog” back then. Also, back then the hot topic was the
Stem cell clinics, FDA, & giant, unapproved for-profit human experiments Read More »
The Oregon State Medical Board took emergency action to suspend the medical license of Dr. Kenneth Welker of Eugene, Oregon on Thursday. Update: Unfortunately, the Associate Press (AP) story on this topic (discussed more below) contains numerous important mistakes including thoroughly mixing up embryonic, adult, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Keep that in mind. Also, sadly
Emergency Suspension of Stem Cell Clinic Doc Kenneth Welker Read More »
This is a guest post by Dr. Chris Centeno as I aim to bring in different viewpoints. By Christopher J. Centeno, M.D. We have noted an explosion in the number of stem cell clinics over the past several years. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t see several new ones pop up on
Dr. Chris Centeno Guest Post on Risky Surge of Newbie Stem Cell Clinics Read More »
Lee Buckler is a true stem cell industry guru. As I’ve been writing this blog for the last couple years it has served as a catalyst for me to meet dozens of really interesting people including. Given all the complex events of late in the stem cell field, I asked Lee if he would do an
Great interview with Lee Buckler on stem cell industry, regulatory issues, and Celltex Read More »
The International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS) has emerged as an important organization related to stem cell regulatory issues. I think that many people do not understand what ICMS is all about and it certainly evokes strong opinions in the stem cell field. If you care about stem cells then you need to know about ICMS
ICMS President Rodriguez interview on adult stem cell regulatory issues Read More »
Wanna play stem cell Whack-a-Mole? Uh, no. I was listening to NPR while commuting home the other day and heard an interesting story about the history of YouTube and its legal issues with film studies. It was quite interesting and, of course as a stem cell fan, a link with stem cells came to me
Stem Cell Whac-A-Mole Read More »