FDA launches crackdown on stem-cell therapy

FDA recently issued draft guidelines clarifying that adult stem cells used in most clinics are drugs and must undergo a stringent approval process before they can be used on patients. Nationwide, dozens of clinics offer costly stem cell therapies for a range of conditions, but with no scientific evidence they are effective. So far, the clinics have avoided tighter regulation, partly because they use cells taken from an individual’s own body and because not much is done to the cells before they are reinjected.