Authorities in India ban use of stem cells in patients except in clinical trials

The Indian Council of Medical Research and the Department of Biotechnology, both based in New Delhi, have issued new guidelines for stem cell research in India. The guidelines stated that stem cells in India can be used as “therapy” only in the context of a clinical trial.1

The council and the department had jointly released guidelines for stem cell research and therapy in 2007, but they have now issued a revised form of the guidelines to highlight new findings that have significantly changed the scope of research related to stem cells and their possible translation.

“There is no conclusive proof of safety or therapeutic efficacy of stem cells in any condition yet,” said the revised …