Federal agents seize unauthorized smallpox vaccine as FDA signals broader crackdown on stem cell clinics

Federal authorities raided a California stem cell clinic and seized a smallpox vaccine that is reserved only for the military and high-risk populations, as the Food and Drug Administration expressed “serious concerns” about how the clinic obtained access to the vaccine at all.

The U.S. Marshals Service seized five vials of the smallpox vaccine, which is not commercially available, the FDA announced Monday. Four of the vials — which each hold 100 vaccine doses — were unused, but a portion of the fifth vial had been used.

The treatment mixed some of the vaccine with stem cells taken from a patient to create an injectable — and unproven and unregulated — cancer treatment that was targeted directly at the patient’s tumors, the FDA said. The FDA, which learned of the treatment after inspections, said the injection could have