Lawmakers press Sharpless to bring stem cell companies into line

A bipartisan group of four legislators are pushing acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless to regulate unproven stem cell therapies as they claim the number of companies marketing stem cell treatments in compliance with premarket approval requirements is lower than expected.

In a letter Thursday, Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman and ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, respectively, as well as Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.), asked Sharpless to explain what FDA is doing to bring the therapies into compliance and how the agency is monitoring the market...