Policy

Is Rick Perry’s stem-cell surgery setting a bad example? (Morning Read)

Gov. Rick Perry and the stem cell debate. Some doctors fear that Republican presidential contender Gov. Rick Perry set a bad example for the public by undergoing a risky and controversial stem-cell surgery last month to fix a common problem -- a bad back. Doctors inserted cultured fat cells from Perry's back into his bloodstream and spine hoping to repair bones in his back. Because the procedure has not been thoroughly studied by researchers or approved by the FDA, doctors (and others) are criticizing, saying his influence might lead desperate patients "into the clinic of quacks."

By Deanna Pogorelc on August 22, 2011 8:52 am

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Gov. Rick Perry and the stem cell debate. Some doctors fear that Republican presidential contender Gov. Rick Perry set a bad example for the public by undergoing a risky and controversial stem-cell surgery last month to fix a common problem — a bad back.

Doctors inserted cultured fat cells from Perry’s back into his bloodstream and spine hoping to repair bones in his back. Because the procedure has not been thoroughly studied by researchers or approved by the FDA, doctors (and others) are criticizing, saying his influence might lead desperate patients “into the clinic of quacks.”

Seattle Genetics milestone. After 14 years in business, Seattle Genetics won its first FDA approval last week in its Hodgkin’s disease and anaplastic large-cell lymphoma treatment drug, Adcetris.

A bad drug turned good. University of Birmingham researchers have re-engineered ecstasy to make it less toxic to the body and more effective for treating cancer. Researchers first showed that ecstasy had the potential to stop cancer growth in 2006, but new the re-engineered drug could be up to 100 times more effective, they say.

Cuts for Life Technologies. California biotech giant Life Technologies began layoffs last week in an effort to cut expenses by $20 million. The company employs 11,000 worldwide.

Tablets for Army docs? The U.S. Army is weighing letting field medics use tablet computers in the field instead of the hand-held Motorola devices they use now. Some tablets could be approved for use by December.