Trending News Today: Federal Prosecutors Target Stem Cell Clinics in Lawsuit

Federal prosecutors have sued to stop 2 companies in California and Florida from providing stem cell treatments, the Associated Press reported. According to the article, the clinics allegedly marketed their procedures as remedies for ailments, including cancer and heart disease, without proof of safety and efficacy. The Associated Press reported that the court filings allege that some patients suffered adverse events, including infections that required hospitalization, and retinal detachments after receiving eye injections in at least 1 instance.

On Wednesday, the FDA posted a notification on its website announcing that, although the EpiPen remains available, there are “intermittent supply constraints,” Bloomberg reported. According to the article, the shortage is due to delays at Pfizer Inc’s Meridian Medical Technologies, which manufactures the device for Mylan. Bloomberg also reported that more than 400 patients in 45 states were having difficulties tracking down EpiPen and similar epinephrine auto-injectors.

An expensive program designed to keep the Zika virus out of the Red Cross’s blood supply has detected only 8 units that tested positive for the virus between June 2016 and September 2017, according to STAT. A new study found that the high screening cost and low number of positive detections works out to approximately $5.3 million for each positive unit the Red Cross pulled from the system, STAT reported. The article noted that the program costs approximately $137 million per year to operate.