FBI Investigates Stem Cell Case

摘要

A pathology professor is accused of harvesting stem cells from umbilical cords without any oversight and selling them illegally. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week arrested Vincent Dammai, 40, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, along with two other men, in a "fraudulent scheme" to "perform unap-proved procedures" with the cells on patients suffering from cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other conditions. The FBI says in its indictment the three reaped more than $1.5 million from the scheme. While stem cells derived from cord blood are being studied in dozens of clinical trials, any testing on people must adhere to guidelines set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That didn't happen here, the FBI alleges; Dammai, for example, was said to have received umbilical cord blood in the mail for the purpose of creating stem cells without FDA oversight. In a statement, the university said Dammai has been placed on administrative leave and "his laboratory and office have been locked and secured."