Rader administers the injection abroad.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Malibu-based psychiatrist William Rader began peddling untested stem cell treatments to patients with incurable conditions nearly two decades ago. As a result, California authorities permanently revoked his medical license last autumn, citing negligence, false or misleading advertising, and professional misconduct, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Despite losing his license to practice, Rader’s company continues to sell injections that cost $30,000 per application but administers them abroad, where U.S. regulators have no jurisdiction.
Dr. Evan Snyder, head of the stem cell program at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla, told the L.A. Times he was surprised to see Rader still operating.
“He’s like whack-a-mole,” Snyder remarked.
Rader’s company, Stem Cell of America, sells injections that allegedly treat arthritis, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries, and other intractable conditions, reported The Times. Suspiciously, Rader never permitted anyone outside of his company to examine the injections and he has never published scientific evidence on their efficacy. He has however revealed that the injections are made from aborted fetuses in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.
In 2009, the journal Science called Rader “particularly notorious” among unregulated offshore stem cell providers for his “extraordinary claims” and “[refusal] to share information on cell lines and techniques.”
Rader, who uses the same stem cell treatment for every condition that is brought to him, was also investigated by the BBC program “Panorama” in the same year, during an episode of which he was accused of employing high-pressure sales tactics. Video footage taken by the U.K. news outlet showed him haranguing a woman with multiple sclerosis in an attempt to persuade her to go through with his stem cell treatment.
While Rader was stripped of his medical license for his part in proliferating what Snyder calls “snake-oil,” legitimate stem cell research has made leaps and bounds since President Barack Obama lifted sanctions put in place by George W. Bush that banned researchers from using federal funds to develop embryonic stem cells. However, according to the L.A. Times, stem cell experts are warning that, treatments will not be one size fits all, contrary to Rader’s outlandish claims.
Perhaps tellingly, the Los Angeles Times revealed Rader’s patients are required to sign a consent form that acknowledges results are not guaranteed and that will not discuss their treatment with the media — or online — without explicit permission from the company.