Google will permit ads for stem cell treatments that are approved by the US food drug administration a change from its previous policy which banned all ads for this experimental category of medical care. The policy update was first reported by Gizmodo and will go into effect in July. The agency said in the policy update that it will also permit cell or gene treatment ads that are exclusively educational or informational in nature even if they reference products or applications that are not approved by the FDA. It’s not clear how Google would define educational or informational or what type of advertisements would be permitted when under that umbrella. Stem cell therapy is a broad term for medical treatments that use stem cells that can develop into any cell type. There are some evidence-based applications for the cell-like to treat some cancers and there are around two dozen FDA-approved cell and gene therapy products that Google’s new policy would permit ads for. But most uses for stem cells are unproven, experimental, and can be dangerous. Clinics claim the cells taken from donated umbilical cords or from patients’ fat can treat things like joint pain or eye conditions. People have urbanized infections and died after getting those types of procedures. The FDA has tried to crack down on businesses offering these types of procedures but they’ve proliferated over the past few years.
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