The agency with responsibility for the licensing of medical products and treatments in Ireland has confirmed it is investigating the provision of controversial unlicensed stem cell therapy in the Cork region.
The Irish Medicines Board yesterday confirmed it was "aware of the stem cell therapy being conducted in the Cork region" and it was "conducting an investigation into this practice".
It is believed the treatment, which is unlicensed in Ireland, is being provided by a Cork GP at his surgery. But the IMB refused to comment beyond its prepared statement, saying it could not do so as the investigation is ongoing.
Yesterday, The Irish Times called to the GP's practice but was told that he was unavailable to discuss whether or not he is providing the treatment for multiple sclerosis sufferers, and other attempts to contact him proved unsuccessful.
It is believed that the treatment is being provided by an international company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland called Advanced Cell Therapeutics, but the company has no telephone listing and yesterday its contact numbers in London and the US were disconnected.
According to its website, Advanced Cell Therapeutics Ltd is a biotech company pioneering the advancements and therapeutic applications of Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy which carries out treatments at 12 international locations. The website lists these 12 locations but it makes no mention of having any clinic in Ireland. The company states on its website that the proprietary protocols which it utilises to generate the cord blood stem cells have been used safely and effectively over the last four years in over 500 treatments in 52 conditions.
The IMB did not identify how the treatment is administered in Cork. But according to a medical source, it is believed the stem cell material is delivered from Switzerland to the Cork surgery where it is administered to Irish as well as UK patients.
Consultant neurologist at Cork University Hospital, Dr Brian Sweeney, a member of the Irish Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, expressed serious concerns at reports of the treatment being provided in Cork and people being charged up to €30,000 for it.
"There is no scientific evidence that this particular treatment, which supposedly involves 'stem cell' material injected into the vein and which is then supposed to travel to the brain and repair the damaged caused by MS, is in any way effective or safe," Dr Sweeney said.
Dr Niall Ó Cléirigh, of the Irish College of General Practitioners, said the administering of unlicensed products to patients as reported in the Cork case, was very worrying.