Capitol Notebook: Iowa attorney general sues over unapproved stem cell treatments

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is suing two people for allegedly peddling misleading "stem cell therapy treatments" door to door.

The suit names Biologics Health and Summit Partners Group, along with Rylee Meek and Scott Thomas, as defendants, asserting they violated Iowa's consumer protection laws. According to the lawsuit, the defendants targeted older Iowans and claimed the stem cell therapies could treat back and joint pain. The treatments, which involved injections and intravenous treatment, cost an average of $9,000 a person.

Stem cells are ones that can develop into cells for other parts of the body, and they have been studied for the treatment of different medical conditions. They are approved only to treat certain blood disorders, and the Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers of dangerous side effects of unapproved treatments.

According to the lawsuit, Meeks and Thomas began selling unapproved stem cell therapies in 2019 using door-to-door sales and dinner seminars. At least two patients complained that their pain had not improved after months of therapy.

Bird is asking a court to charge the defendants thousands in fines and require them to reimburse Iowans who paid for the therapies.

“Taking advantage of Iowans suffering from health issues is illegal and dangerous,” Bird said in a statement. “Iowans should not have to fear being ripped off for fake stem cell therapies that expose them to major health risks, such as life-threatening blood infections, blindness, and tumor formation."

Deputy attorney general named district court judge

Gov. Kim Reynolds named David Faith, a deputy attorney general for Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, as a district judge in Iowa's Judicial District 5A.

The appointment fills the vacancy left by retiring Judge Randy Hefner. The district includes Dallas, Guthrie, Jasper, Madison, Marion and Warren Counties.

Faith, of Indianola, received his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law.

Faith serves on a short-term board to review Iowa's boards and commissions, which has made recommendations to eliminate dozens of state boards. His judicial appointment will begin Oct. 15, after that committee's work ends, a spokesperson for Reynolds said.