Abstract 1025 Taking action against the marketing of fraudulent stem cell therapies

Although stem cell-based therapies offer a promising approach to managing a wide range of diseases, they are still in their preliminary stages of development. Much experimental work needs to be done to determine the validity and efficacy of such therapies. However, many clinics market unproven stem cell therapies to fool the patients and make money out of them. Fraudulent stem cell clinics try a lot of antics to advertise their unproven stem cell therapies on Google. They target patients who otherwise have no hope of recovering and include fake sensational and emotional stories in their advertisements to entice these patients. Such stem cell clinics are dangerously increasing in number in the United States. In addition to posing a significant financial threat to the patients, such therapies can also be of substantial physical risk. For example, one such treatment resulted in vision loss in patients. Also, many patients have been paralyzed and infected because of such therapies. Therefore, policy-based resolutions are urgently needed to prevent the marketing of unproven stem cell therapies. The inability to act will promote the market for unproven stem cell therapies and risk patients' lives. It will also decrease public trust in stem cell research, reducing research funding and decelerating the research pace. During the ASBMB Advocacy training program project, I gathered helpful resources about the current status of stem cell therapies and how we can prevent the marketing of fraudulent therapies. I made valuable connections with people who are working in this area and learned about the approaches that can be used for patient education. I also organized a webinar featuring a stem cell research expert to educate the attendees about this issue. As I continue my research work in stem cell biology, I plan to continue to discuss this issue with other researchers, the public, and, most importantly, patients.