A stem cell clinic in the Cell Surgical Network chain has just been sued allegedly for causing vision loss in a patient. By my count, across the U.S. this makes at least 5 patients who have said they were either totally blinded or had some major vision loss after getting stem cells injected into their […]
New suit for vision loss against Cell Surgical Network clinic Read More »
When I first learned about the multi-$10 million cord cell clinic deal between Duke and Cryo-Cell I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Duke’s involved in this? The problem: marketing unproven cells for kids Yes, this wasn’t some stem cell clinic operating out of a strip mall seeking to make big money off of injecting
Vice tackles dicey Cryo-Cell Duke mega-million peds clinic plan Read More »
This week marked the release of new draft FDA guidance on cell and gene therapies. Is the FDA kind of like the guidance counselor at school or more like the principal? It probably depends on many factors. I also find it funny how pretty much everyone in academia and biotech industry works to be compliant
Weekly reads: New FDA guidance, brains, MSCs, senescence Read More »
Those who follow the stem cell field might be familiar with stem cell clinic operator Neil Riordan. According to a recent press release and some news reports, Riordan just had some bad news in court related to a stem cell clinic in the U.S. Stem cell clinic lawsuit As background, why do those running stem
$7.8 million verdict in stem cell clinics case against Neil Riordan Read More »
I recently found concerning SEC filings from the biotech Cryo-Cell about a deal it has with a Duke team for infusions of children with unproven umbilical cord cells. This turns out to be a $58 million deal. It relates in a major way to a Duke compassionate use or expanded access program (EAP) that already had raised
FDA should freeze Duke EAP & probe $58 million Cryo-Cell deal linked to it Read More »
How can you tell who to trust in the world of stem cell therapy? What information can a patient trust? Once upon a time about a dozen years ago it seemed a much simpler question. There were universities and biotech companies doing legit research as well as clinical trials, and there were physicians doing bone
Stem cell therapy: the good, the bad, & the muddy waters Read More »
Professor Joanne Kurtzberg’s clinical work at the Duke Autism Center on umbilical cord blood for autism and cerebral palsy (CP) involves a partnership with a publicly-traded cord blood banking firm called Cryo-Cell. Kurtzberg is also the Medical Director at the firm. In addition they have intellectual property in this area. The Duke team’s efforts, including
Duke & Cryo-Cell plan big clinic for unproven infusions of kids Read More »
Cancer stem cells are one of the most interesting areas of research, intersecting the stem cell and cancer fields. Today’s weekly reads post highlights some new cancer stem cell articles along with some other interesting papers. I also note a recent weak stem cell clinical trial paper that is not a recommended read but is
Weekly reads: cancer stem cells & other pubs plus a puzzler Read More »
The journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine has a long track record of publishing great work. I also have a lot of respect for the editors there and I’ve published there myself. But a few recent events have sparked concerns including over possible undisclosed conflicts of interest in some papers there about cord blood for autism.
Cord conflicts at the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine Read More »
One of the most common questions I’ve gotten over the last decade is, “how much does stem cell therapy cost?” They actually seem most often to want to know more specifically how much it should cost. To try to authoritatively answer this now in 2023 we need data from the present and past along with expert
How much does stem cell therapy cost in 2023? Read More »