Sham Stem Cell Studies Force NIH to Weed Its Research Database

For-profit stem cell clinics that had run-ins with the FDA could have a harder time misleading patients into thinking their studies have the government’s seal of approval.

The National Institutes of Health wants to clamp down on for-profit stem cell clinics that market their products as being based on research included in studies at ClinicalTrials.gov, implying the federal government has endorsed the treatments. The NIH’s National Library of Medicine oversees the repository of more than 300,000 studies posted by companies or investigators but doesn’t monitor individual study records.

The potential changes come after the Food and Drug Administration sought ...