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PETBioNewsNews'Stem cell ferry' gets round EU rules

BioNews

'Stem cell ferry' gets round EU rules

Published 9 June 2009 posted in News and appears in BioNews 356

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BioNews

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).

Controversial stem cell therapy is to be provided in the UK on overnight ferries sailing in international water in order to bypass EU regulation. Advanced Cell Therapeutics (ACT), a Swiss company which offers treatment to sufferers of neurological disorders at twelve clinics around the world including some in Holland and...

Controversial stem cell therapy is to be provided in the UK on overnight ferries sailing in international water in order to bypass EU regulation. Advanced Cell Therapeutics (ACT), a Swiss company which offers treatment to sufferers of neurological disorders at twelve clinics around the world including some in Holland and Spain, was recently ordered to stop operating in Ireland by the Irish Medicines Board. Dr John Dunphy, who runs the Road Medical Centre in Carrigaline, Cork, where the therapy was being offered, is currently being investigated by the Irish Medical Council. Under new EU regulations, which came into force on 7 April, in order for the Cork clinic to operate using human cells or tissue for human application a licence must be obtained from the Irish Medicines Board.


ACT claims that the stem cells used in their therapies are derived exclusively from umbilical cord blood, donated using informed consent protocols, and that all cells are tested for infectious diseases. Last week, Dr Dunphy explained the process of administering the treatment to the Irish Medical Times - a local subcutaneous injection of 1.5 million stem cells is made, usually over the cervical or lumbar spine, when targeting neurological disorders. Four hundred UK patients were scheduled to undergo the treatment over the next four weeks; these patients have now been informed that their initial examination and preliminary consultation will take place in the Cork clinic with administration of the stem cells taking place in international waters aboard the Cork to Swansea ferry. The cost of the return ferry and one night's accommodation will be covered by ACT. ACT treatments are reported to cost up to £12,000.


Founders of the company which used to provide the stem cells to ACT for their treatments are currently facing a 51-count indictment from a federal grand jury in Atlanta, US, accused of distributing untested stem cell treatment drugs without any basis in science, and providing false and misleading information about the effectiveness of stem cell treatment. The company, Biomark International, which closed in 2003 after a Food and Drugs Agency investigation, also shared members of its advisory board and patient case histories with ACT. In Cork, Dr Dunphy said he became involved in the controversial field because his sister suffers from multiple sclerosis and was faced with a long waiting list for the procedure at the ACT clinic in Rotterdam. Most UK patients to date have travelled to Holland for their injections. The Rotterdam clinic, run by Dr Robert Trossel, who carries out his initial consultations in Harley Street, London, is also under investigation by the Dutch authorities. However, the clinic has been allowed to stay open during the investigation as there have been no reports of anybody suffering harm.


Denying some scientists' claims that there is little or no evidence that these cells can influence the course of neurological disease, Dr Dunphy commented 'we know they work. These cells hone into the central nervous system. They repair damaged tissue. You just have to get them to the right place'. The Department of Health in the UK says that despite the fact that the government is investing in stem cell research the science is still in the very early stages of development. In a statement they advise, 'We would urge caution against seeking treatment or procedures that have not been subjected to rigorous clinical trials and assessment of safety and potential efficacy. Patients with multiple sclerosis are advised to speak to their consultant about their best treatment options'.

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Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
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15 October 2010 • 2 minutes read

Stem cell tourism - don't believe the hype

by Claire Bale and 1 others

Thousands of people with serious, long term health conditions are tempted abroad each year by untested stem cell treatments. Untested stem cell treatments for Parkinson's are available in several countries, including clinics in Germany and China. But the treatments are expensive - often many thousands of pounds - and come without any scientific evidence that they work and with real risks...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
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Stem cell doctor exploited 'vulnerable' patients, hearing finds

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The UK's General Medical Council (GMC) has ruled that a UK-registered doctor has exploited a number of vulnerable patients who have multiple sclerosis, offering unproven treatments using stem cells not suitable for human use....

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
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12 February 2010 • 1 minute read

Stem cell doctor misconduct hearing underway

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The UK's General Medical Council (GMC) is hearing evidence of a Dutch clinic that supplied stem cell therapies to British patients alleged to be not 'intended for human use'....

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
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11 January 2010 • 1 minute read

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Scientist and patient groups want more safeguards to prevent clinics in the UK from offering unproven stem cell treatments, according to the Guardian newspaper. The calls come as a Harley Street doctor - Robert Trossel - comes before the General Medical Council (GMC) accused of misconduct, the newspaper reports. According to the Guardian, the upcoming GMC hearing will consider allegations that he offered, and made false claims about, stem cell therapy. Dr Trossel is accused of ...

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