VetStem was recently featured in a documentary about Regenerative Veterinary Medicine called Animal Pharm: Where Beasts Meet Biotech.  We’ll share more about this soon, but one interesting aspect of the film is the commentary on how advances made in veterinary medicine are translating into the human medical field.

It’s not an uncommon narrative: a new medical technology or drug emerges in the veterinary field and after research and outcome data are compiled, scientists and doctors begin to wonder how humans may benefit from the same technology.  Known as translational medicine, Animal Pharm takes a look at how we’ve begun to apply what we know about stem cell therapy for animals to human medicine.

As a leader in the field of Regenerative Veterinary Medicine, VetStem strives to remain one step ahead and we recently announced the launch of our human stem cell company, Personalized Stem Cells, Inc. (PSC).  PSC was launched to advance and legitimize human regenerative medicine, which until recently, has been largely unregulated.  Recent regulatory action by the FDA, FTC, and the Federation of State Medical Boards has made it clear however that the only allowed use of stem cells will be through legitimate FDA clinical trials.

As such, PSC plans to launch FDA approved human stem cell clinical trials later this year.  The company recently announced their first Investigational New Drug application to the FDA for the treatment of osteoarthritis in the knee.  If you are interested in more information, you can contact PSC here.

These are exciting times we’re living in.  Though our primary goal has been to improve the lives of animals, it was always in the back of our minds that the technology we’ve worked so hard to develop and advance might one day be able to help humans also.  We are excited to see this dream becoming a reality.

In this week’s “Meet VetStem” blog series, we introduce you to Sue, our Director of Clinical Development.  Sue has been with VetStem from the get-go and with her level of experience, she wears many hats.  In her role as Director of Clinical Development, Sue helps Dr. Bob Harman and Kristi oversee the compassionate use stem cell cases.  She also handles the exotic animal cases such as Francis, the sun bear from the San Diego Zoo.  In addition to this, Sue works closely with our Quality Assurance and R&D teams to conduct and manage clinical studies and collect and analyze post-study data.  Perhaps one of her most important roles at VetStem is that of Animal Safety Advocate.  In this role, Sue oversees the safety of all patients treated with VetStem Cell Therapy to identify and remedy any potential risks associated with treatment.

Sue has a BS from UC Davis and is a Certified Animal Health Technician.  Prior to joining VetStem, Sue worked in various animal and scientific fields.  Her animal experience ranges from grooming and training dogs to working with dairy cattle and pigs.  She has trained her own dogs in various activities including obedience, scent hurdle racing, herding, and agility but mostly just how to be a pleasant part of the family.  Animals have been a part of her family for as long as she can remember including dogs, cats, birds, and horses.

Sue and Dr. Harman share two adult children, Kristi and Kevin, both of which were homeschooled at various points in time before college.  They currently own 6 cats, 3 dogs, 2 horses, and several birds.  Two of their dogs, Ben and Sally (pictured below), can be seen hanging around the VetStem office on a regular basis.  In her free time, Sue enjoys trail walks, especially near bodies of water.  She also enjoys studying about various holistic therapies and tries to apply them to herself and her family, both 2 and 4 legged.

Sue’s commitment to patient safety and quality assurance is unparalleled.  With her level of knowledge and attention to detail, Sue is an essential member of the VetStem team.  Thank you, Sue for your hard work and dedication!

Sue

Kristi and Kevin

Sally

Cancer is a diagnosis no pet owner wants to hear.  Occasionally pet owners will contact us to ask if VetStem Cell Therapy can be used to treat or cure their pet’s cancer.  Unfortunately, VetStem cells cannot be used to treat cancer.  But what about pet’s who have an orthopedic condition that may benefit from stem cell therapy who also have cancer?

As a precaution, we monitor the occurrence of cancer in patients treated with VetStem Cell Therapy closely and have not seen a higher incidence than what is reported in patients of the same age group that were not treated with stem cells.  The literature supports that adult stem cells do not directly turn into cancer cells.  There is also literature regarding stem cell therapy in women who have had mastectomies which shows no higher incidence of recurrence of cancer.

VetStem takes a conservative approach when it comes to patients with cancer because there is still a lot that we don’t know about stem cells and how they work so we err on the side of safety.  We do not recommend stem cell therapy for patients with active or recent cancer.

However, as pet owners ourselves, we understand that in some cases, the potential benefits of stem cell therapy may outweigh the potential risk in patients with active or recent cancer and therefore a pet owner may elect to move forward with stem cell therapy.  This decision is usually reached after a consultation between your veterinarian and a VetStem veterinarian and requires pet owners to sign a special waiver. Some things to consider when making this decision are: age of your pet, severity of the cancer, other medical conditions, and your pet’s current quality of life. There is also an option for patients with cancer to only receive joint injections and not an intravenous injection.

If you have any questions about stem cell therapy, speak to your veterinarian or contact a VetStem representative.

This week, we’d like to introduce our readers to an integral part of the VetStem team: our Director of Commercial Operations.  Kristi has been with VetStem for nearly 11.5 years.  She started out as a Customer Service Representative and was quickly promoted to Customer Service Manager where she managed a small team of professionals and oversaw the day-to-day administrative operations.  After nearly seven years, she was promoted to Marketing Operations Manager where she managed all print and digital marketing as well as the coordination of trade shows and other events.  After just over a year, she took on additional sales responsibilities and began visiting local veterinary offices to coordinate with current clients and establish new clients.  Just under a year and a half later, Kristi was promoted to Director of Commercial Operations.

As the Director of Commercial Operations, Kristi oversees the Customer Service, Marketing, and Sales teams and works closely with VetStem CEO, Dr. Bob Harman, to manage the compassionate use (non-standard) stem cell cases.  As you may have guessed, Kristi is an essential part of the VetStem team, ensuring the day-to-day commercial operations are completed in an accurate and timely manner and that everything runs smoothly.  You may catch Kristi on the phone or via email, should you have questions regarding the use of stem cells for non-standard indications.

Prior to joining VetStem, Kristi worked in the veterinary field for nearly 11 years.  She has worked for a veterinary laboratory, a veterinary insurance company, and also as a practice manager in an all cat clinic.  From that clinic, Kristi adopted one of her cats, Pyewacket, an orange tabby who was a blood donor for sick cats at the clinic.

Kristi and her husband Josh share two children: Riley who is 15 and Elia Grace who is 7.  In addition to Pyewacket, who is now 19 years old, Kristi also has Phini and Scarf, two Oriental Short Hairs, who are fun and feisty.  Scarf, the baby of the three, loves his brother Pyewacket and likes to eat socks or any type of cloth.

Kristi and her family

Pyewacket and Scarf

Phini