US cracks down on dodgy, or even fake, stem cell clinics

New York

THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a crackdown on dangerous stem cell clinics Monday, while at the same time pledging to ease the path to approval for companies and doctors with legitimate treatments in the growing field.

The agency reported actions against two large stem cell clinics and a biotech company, saying that it was critical to shut down "unscrupulous actors" in regenerative medicine, which includes stem cell and gene therapies and immunotherapies.

"The FDA will not allow deceitful actors to take advantage of vulnerable patients by purporting to have treatments or cures for serious diseases without any proof that they actually work," said Dr Scott Gottlieb, the …