Broomfield, Colo.-based Centeno-Schultz Clinic's Christopher J. Centeno, MD, is urging Colorado legislators to crackdown on unregulated stem cell treatments, The Denver Channel reports.
Five things to know:
1. The regenerative medicine specialist is advocating for legislation that would crackdown on non-physicians running for-profit stem cell clinics by requiring them to register with the state and follow rules intended to protect patients from misleading medical claims.
2. The proposed legislation was introduced and died in the Florida Senate in 2018.
3. Dr. Centeno pointed to the FDA guidelines that indicate the types of allogeneic stem cell products being sold are legally required to be dead; he claimed the products are incapable and scientifically unproven to regenerate tissue as advertised.
4. "I welcome good competition — physicians who become knowledgeable in this area, trying to do good work," Dr. Centeno told The Denver Channel. "What I don't welcome is the bait-and-switch scams. And it's actually my concern that those bait-and-switch scams are going to destroy the entire industry even for physicians who are trying to do good work."
5. At the national level, the FDA is cracking down on unsubstantiated and poor-quality stem cell therapies.