Feds Move on Calif., Fla. Stem Cell Clinics at FDA’s Request

A pair of FDA-instigated lawsuits filed in Florida and California that seek to stop stem cell clinic operators from marketing unapproved treatments may make a bigger splash than it first seemed.

The agency escalated its clampdown on medical clinics that it says offer unapproved and potentially unsafe stem cell treatments by asking two courts May 9 to allow it to rein them in permanently. But notably, one of the named defendants—Cell Surgical Network Corp.—is actually a network of such clinics.

“By Cell Surgical Network’s account, that’s about 100 clinics. That’s important,” Leigh Turner, associate professor with the University of Minnesota’s ...