ViaCyte is one of the most exciting stem cell and regenerative medicine biotech companies so I like to try to check in with them regularly. Today’s post is my new interview with ViaCyte leader Paul Laikind on recent developments. We had a great chat about the science and how things are looking upbeat for the […]
ViaCyte Q&A: CRISPR Tx quick progress, ongoing diabetes trial, & more Read More »
Back in 2013, a half dozen years ago, I went out on a limb and made predictions for the stem cell field for 2020. These are different than my yearly predictions for the coming year (for instance, you can see my predictions made in 2018 for this year of 2019 here). As to my 2013
7-Year Glitch? Updates on my overly optimistic 2013 stem cell predictions for 2020 Read More »
In a surprise, Dr. Masayo Takahashi has announced that she has left RIKEN. Takahashi indicates she will be new President of a company called Vision Care, Inc. as part of the Kobe Eye Center. I’ve pasted a picture of Takahashi’s Tweet with translation more toward the bottom of the post. A big thanks to Piero
Stem cell pioneer Masayo Takahashi (高橋 政代) leaves RIKEN Read More »
There’s a lot of questionable “stem cell” injections these days involving purported amniotic stem cell or other perinatal (birth-related) material. Regulators are taking note including the FTC, which took some unprecedented action last year on this front. Now the FTC has announced that more than half a million $USD have been returned to consumers who
Japan is a leader in stem cell and regenerative medicine research, and in particular in clinical translation toward the bedside. Induced pluripotent stem cell (IPSC)-based investigational therapies are rightly an area of focus in Japan given their invention by Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka. Small clinical studies based on IPSC have been initiated there for several
Japan stem cell clinical studies rapidly piling up Read More »
By Jeanne Loring What can you do with cells that live forever and can make every cell type in the body? The answer is: remarkable things, as new reports of clinical trials using cell types derived from pluripotent stem cells indicate. Pluripotent stem cells are either derived from embryos donated from IVF procedures (human embryonic
Autologous or Allogeneic: a stem cell question (guest post from Jeanne Loring) Read More »
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took some strong action against specific stem cell clinics today and the physician behind them. I see this as really good news and it’s something I’ve been pushing for years. The clinics in question in part marketed unproven stem cells for sick kids. Frankly, iffy for-profit stem cell “treatments” for
101-year old lady cured? Groundbreaking FTC Action on Stem Cell Clinic Marketing Read More »
Stem cell news is always burbling up, sometimes right there in front of us on the web and other times via networks of people. Astellas news. Some may remember there used to be this pioneering stem cell biotech called ACT, which then became Ocata, and finally was acquired by the big company Astellas. One of
Stem cell news bites: Astellas trial, cystic fibrosis claim, a few cool papers Read More »
With stem cells for vision loss, first we want to be sure a treatment won’t make things worse. Several teams around the globe are rigorously studying stem cell-based approaches to vision loss via regulatory-compliant studies including for macular degeneration with some results cautiously upbeat on safety from early phase analyses, but data from a new study on
Possible safety concerns from new stem cell, RPE vision loss study report Read More »
What is the SCOTS Trial and why are some of its participants raising concerns? There’s a lot going on in Florida with non-FDA approved stem cell offerings. Even just related to stem cells for vision problems alone. While US Stem Cell has drawn the most attention related to patient allegations of severe vision loss in Florida
15 still unanswered interview questions for stem cells for vision SCOTS trial docs Read More »