Stem Cell Stories that Caught Our Eye: New law to protect consumers; using skin to monitor blood sugar; and a win for the good guys

New law targets stem cell clinics that offer therapies not approved by the FDA For some time now CIRM and others around California have been warning consumers about the risks involved in going to clinics that offer stem cell therapies that have not been tested in a clinical trial or approved by the U.S. Food … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught Our Eye: New law to protect consumers; using skin to monitor blood sugar; and a win for the good guys

CIRM weekly stem cell roundup: stomach bacteria & cancer; vitamin C may block leukemia; stem cells bring down a 6’2″ 246lb football player

Stomach bacteria crank up stem cell renewal, may be link to gastric cancer (Todd Dubnicoff) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that two-thirds of the world’s population is infected with H. pylori, a type of bacteria that thrives in the harsh acidic conditions of the stomach. Data accumulated over the past few decades … Continue reading CIRM weekly stem cell roundup: stomach bacteria & cancer; vitamin C may block leukemia; stem cells bring down a 6’2″ 246lb football player

FDA creates a forum for patients to guide its decision making

It’s not hard to find people who don’t like the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the government agency that, among other things, regulates medical therapies. In fact, if you type “do people like the FDA?” into an internet search engine you’ll quickly find out that for a lot of people the answer is “no”. … Continue reading FDA creates a forum for patients to guide its decision making

CIRM-funded life-saving stem cell therapy gets nod of approval from FDA

If you have read our 2016 Annual Report (and if you haven’t you should, it’s brilliant) or just seen the cover you’ll know that it features very prominently a young girl named Evie Padilla Vaccaro. Evie was born with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency or SCID – also known as “bubble baby disease”; we’ve written about it … Continue reading CIRM-funded life-saving stem cell therapy gets nod of approval from FDA

Why Stem Cell Advocates Texans for Cures say “Right to Try” Legislation Should be Fought

  This week in Washington DC a delegation from the stem cell advocacy group Texans for Cures is meeting with members of Congress from both parties. The focus of the meetings are three bills promoting “Right to Try” legislation. Supporters of the bills say they will empower patients battling terminal illness. Texans for Cures say, … Continue reading Why Stem Cell Advocates Texans for Cures say “Right to Try” Legislation Should be Fought

Stem cell agency funds Phase 3 clinical trial for Lou Gehrig’s disease

At CIRM we don’t have a disease hierarchy list that we use to guide where our funding goes. We don’t rank a disease by how many people suffer from it, if it affects children or adults, or how painful it is. But if we did have that kind of hierarchy you can be sure that … Continue reading Stem cell agency funds Phase 3 clinical trial for Lou Gehrig’s disease

CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury expands patient recruitment

It’s always great to start the week off with some good news. Today we learned that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Asterias Biotherapeutics approval to expand the number and type of people with spinal cord injuries that it treats in their CIRM-funded clinical trial. Up till now, Asterias has been treating people … Continue reading CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury expands patient recruitment

4 things to know about stem cell clinical trials [Video]

Every day, we receive phone calls and emails from people who are desperately seeking our help. Sometimes they reach out on their own behalf, though often it’s for a family member or close friend. In every case, someone is suffering or dying from a disorder that has no available cure or effective treatment and they … Continue reading 4 things to know about stem cell clinical trials [Video]

jCyte gets FDA go-ahead for Fast Track review process of Retinitis Pigmentosa stem cell therapy

When the US Congress approved, and President Obama signed into law, the 21st Century Cures Act last year there was guarded optimism that this would help create a more efficient and streamlined, but no less safe, approval process for the most promising stem cell therapies. Even so many people took a wait and see approach, … Continue reading jCyte gets FDA go-ahead for Fast Track review process of Retinitis Pigmentosa stem cell therapy

Listening is fine. Action is better. Why patients want more than just a chance to have their say.

Type in the phrase “the power of the patient voice” in any online search engine and you’ll generate thousands of articles and posts about the importance of listening to what patients have to say. The articles are on websites run by a diverse group from patients and researchers, to advocacy organizations and pharmaceutical companies. Everyone … Continue reading Listening is fine. Action is better. Why patients want more than just a chance to have their say.