STAT+: Are stem cells the next peptides? These advocates think RFK Jr. could make it happen

STAT’s Margaret Manto reported on Oct. 5, 2026, after attending PepMed 2026, a conference for regenerative health businesses held by the American Academy of Peptide Medicine in Washington, and speaking with regenerative medicine experts and former regulators.

At the conference, stem cell entrepreneur Chuck Meeker was bullish about his industry’s prospects with the FDA. He told STAT that if he were a betting man, he would expect a series of FDA roundtables before the end of the year; the FDA declined to say whether such events were imminent.

Stem cells’ appearance at a peptide-focused conference was not a coincidence: peptides and stem cells are both part of regenerative medicine, which focuses on therapies claiming to trigger the body’s natural healing mechanisms. Compounded peptides are having a moment with the FDA, while commercially available, unapproved stem cell therapies have remained a black sheep for the agency. Meeker and others at PepMed believe that is about to change, and the stem cell industry sees the FDA’s tentative embrace of peptides as its chance to get a foot in the door and bring stem cells from the grey market to millions of Americans.