Stem Cell Trials Proceeding
Trials for first generation adult stem cell therapies are proceeding quietly, as this press release demonstrates. This part of the field is becoming medicine as usual, complete with funny trademarked names for stem cell formulations. "Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it has received clearance [from the FDA] to begin enrollment in the first human clinical trial for a stem cell therapy targeted at injured tissue in knee surgery patients. ... In the U.S. alone, approximately 800,000 people each year have surgery to remove a portion of damaged meniscus, a cartilage-like tissue in the knee that acts as a shock absorber. In several large animal studies, [this therapy] has demonstrated the potential to regenerate the excised meniscus, as well as prevent the typical progression to osteoarthritis."