There are legitimate arguments about the degree to which the FDA should regulate stem cell clinics and the point-of-care, for-profit stem cell industry. I’ve held debates about that on my blog with argument on both sides including a very valuable debate between Dr. Chris Centeno and Doug Sipp. However, increasingly it is looking like the […]
As stem cell industry explodes, can a static FDA keep up? Read More »
How the organizers of the Houston Stem Cell Summit made a big flub? I wrote a few days ago about the big deal upcoming Houston Stem Cell Summit with Guv Perry as headliner and a big group of stem cell clinic folks speaking. There is a sense in the stem cell community that this
Houston Stem Cell Summit blows it and loses its website? Read More »
Next month there is going to be a new stem cell meeting taking place. The 1st Annual Houston Stem Cell Summit. The primary sponsor is Celltex. I’d encourage everyone to go, but I’m not so sure it’d be worth it. Why? I’m always glad to see another stem cell meeting and this one is surely unique in
Houston stem cell meeting lacks diversity & risks falling to groupthink Read More »
What’s the deal with Nordstrom and stem cells? Are they going to rename themselves “Nordstem”? I grew up in Bellevue, WA, home of the Nordstrom’s family and of the Nordstrom department store chain. I believe the flagship store was just across Lake Washington in Seattle. I don’t like shopping as perhaps most guys feel, but
Nordstrom hawking super expensive, non-FDA approved stem cell cosmetic drugs Read More »
The founder of Korean stem cell corporation, RNL Bio, Dr. Jeong-Chan Ra, may be most well-known in the U.S. for his association with Texas Stem Cell Clinic, Celltex, which gave Guv Rick Perry his stem cell transplant. RNL Bio is also the first major company to be sued in U.S. federal court for fraud over
Francisco Morales and Lawrence Stowe, have pleaded guilty to federal charges related to dubious stem cell treatments. The pair pled guilty to conspiracy charges related to introducing “misbranded and unapproved new drugs into interstate commerce”. The drugs in question? Stem cells. Patrick J. Holland of the FDA said “the FDA is committed to investigating those
Stem cell frauds Morales and Stowe plead guilty to federal charges: who’s next? Read More »
For years now we’ve had a war in the world of stem cells. The war has been primarily centered on embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). The reason I call it a “war” is that opponents of ESCR have declared a “culture war” on ESCR and ESC researchers. I don’t like the term “war”, but if
Update on stem cell culture war: from Pepsi to Personhood & Romney to rogue clinics Read More »
I’ve been in the stem cell field for a long time. I’ve seen a lot of wild, unexpected, even crazy things. Running this blog is a big reason. However, I have never seen anything like the wild video (see below) with a sock puppet (manned by comedienne Cheryl Ling) erupting with a profanity-laced tirade about stem
The stem cell world is getting more complicated. There are more good guys and bad guys out there than ever. In the Old West, at least as portrayed in the old movies I used to watch as a kid, the bad guy often had a black hat and the good guy a white hat. In
Who’s who? How to tell the stem cell good guys from the bad guys Read More »
There has been a lot of attention about a Sutter clinical trial to use adult stem cells for the treatment of autism. I did a post on it here. After more reading, I’m scratching my head even more about the hypothesis at the heart of that trial, but I’m no autism expert. Emily Willingham, who knows