It’s been a long saga for the FDA and the unproven stem cell clinic group called Cell Surgical Network, headquartered in Beverly Hills. A court case involving the two has been unfolding for many years. It has big implications for agency authority and the hundreds of stem cell clinics across the U.S. The case took […]
Back in late August, Liveyon leader John Kosolcharoen pleaded to federal charges on stem cells. What was Liveyon? Liveyon was a splashy umbilical cord stem cell supplier company. I don’t know if the company is still active now. One of its core products ended up sending dozens of people to the hospital due to contamination
Liveyon made $21.6 million says DOJ; leader gets 3 years prison for stem cell activities Read More »
I’ve written before about so-called test-tube burgers and bacon and other lab grown meat. Test-tube burgers Cells like muscle and fat progenitor cells are the basis for these products. Sometimes stem cells may come into play for such “test-tube burgers” as I generally call this type of lab meat. Cost seems to be a main
Weekly reads: test-tube burgers, CRISPR for space travel, more tuft cells Read More »
The FDA just warned a Florida stem cell clinic firm called Mother Stem Institute run by Dr. Alvaro Skupin. Background: Mother Stem Institute past issues I’ve written about this clinic and Dr. Skupin in the last few years. Just about a year ago I blogged the news that a patient suit against the clinic was
FDA warns Mother Stem Institute & Alvaro Skupin 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 private cord blood bank industry has promised families all kinds of great things over the years. A typical ad for such cord blood banks might say, “Your child may need cord blood in the future for a cure.” The industry also often uses the analogy of frozen cord blood as an insurance policy for
Remember the Lung Institute? Many patients raised red flags about their experiences there. It was also once known as the Lung Health Institute. More generally, patients who have been harmed by stem cell clinics have had to rely on other ways beyond the FDA to try to do something about it. The FDA has been
Lung Institute stem cell clinic loses class action suit, patients awarded $9M Read More »
I was able to watch some of the 9th Circuit Court hearing today on the FDA appeal of its loss in the Cell Surgical Network lawsuit. This post is my brief impressions as a scientist. What went down? Do the three judges seem to be leaning one way or another? The ruling in this case
9th Circuit hearing on FDA appeal of Cell Surgical Network case: maybe encouraging? Read More »
Paolo Macchiarini is one of a small group of people in the stem cell universe whose misconduct has blown up in the press. Piero Anversa, Haruko Obokata, Hwang Woo-Suk, and some operators in the unproven stem cell clinic sphere come to mind. Macchiarini published quite a few seriously problematic papers, some of which just hung
Weekly reads: late Macchiarini retractions, stem cells & Lululemon Read More »
There has been a steady stream of encouraging data on stem cells for MS. Particularly for certain kinds of MS. A new study adds to this upbeat direction. Good news on stem cells for MS Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in Sweden: an observational cohort study, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery,
Weekly reads: stem cells for MS, Kimera Labs IND, FDA lawsuit Read More »