Principles

Legitimate medical innovation is innovative therapy based on good patient care, intended to improve or ameliorate an individual patient's condition, and showing a reasonable chance of success for that patient.

  • ICMS supports legitimate medical innovation outside the context of a formal clinical trial.
  • The use of autologous adult stem cells is framed as the practice of medicine and subject to laws and regulations governing medical practice.
  • An informed patient has the right to access innovative therapies.
  • Ethical physicians should use professional judgment and experience in determining treatment regimens.
  • Cell-based medicine requires global mechanisms for scientific transparency, medical oversight, and patient protections.
  • Cell procurement should use sterile techniques and universal precautions to minimize contamination and infection risks.
  • Oversight should be proportional to the degree of treatment risk.
  • Every patient should be monitored for long-term health effects.
  • Every treatment protocol needs a clear, timely, and effective adverse-event reporting plan.
  • Treatments using stem cells should be subject to ongoing review by an independent oversight body.
  • Medical or scientific claims must be based on accepted scientific evidence and medical experience.