A few months ago, I managed to speak with Dr. Michael West, the CEO of BioTime and hear his thoughts on the stem cell industry and of biotechnology in general. A few articles stemming from the interview will be posted at Signals Blog, with the first of the series, here:
West is an extremely knowledgeable individual, with a clear recollection of the stem cell and regenerative medicine industry (going back over 20 years to it's initial days!). He comes complete with numerous examples and anecdotes that illustrate the possibilities of this new kind of medicine and despite being a very busy individual, was quite easy to speak to.
In the first part of the Signals Blog articles, I explain how West believes that the 'cells as drugs' concept that's critical for regenerative medicine products means that the FDA is going to need more evidence that cells function as intended, not simply that they look like the cells companies purport them to be, by cell markers or what have you.
