Boston hospitals test stem-cell-based therapies for the first time

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

In a step that could lead to a new diabetes treatment, several Boston-area hospitals have teamed up with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and biotech Semma Therapeutics to make personalized cell-based therapies and organize clinical trials.

It is one of several initiatives around the country aimed at manufacturing cell-derived treatments, as the hope for such therapies creates a demand for the production of the cells.

“It’s going to be very expensive,” said Dr. Richard Lee, a Brigham cardiologist and researcher at the stem cell institute. “The big challenge is, can the strategy of using an individual’s stem cells come down to a price that’s really feasible?”

Related on the SLP

Should FDA crack down on stem cell clinics? Media overhypes stem cell breakthrough for Type 1 diabetes

RFK Jr.’s plan to curb America’s appetite for ultra-processed foods and artificial dyes blocked by the White House

Anti-vax Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton alleges conspiracy by doctors, drugmakers, and insurers to push childhood vaccination for profit

Hooked on kratom: The unregulated, natural, alcohol-free “social tonic” that is destroying lives 

Organizers of the Boston program still need to secure more funding if it is going to be successful. The stem cell institute has committed to funding the program for the first year, but Lee and other Harvard officials would not say how much the institute is contributing, or how much they think the program will cost to sustain.

Read full, original post: Stem cell factory opens door for trials of personalized diabetes treatment