The Business of False Hope How three “regenerative” brands turned desperate patients into a revenue stream
The Business of False Hope
How three “regenerative” brands turned desperate patients into a revenue stream
By Steven Millard, Investigative Correspondent
For families running out of medical options, the word stem cells lands like a lifeline. Clinics and “foundations” promise regeneration, repair and relief where mainstream medicine offers only management and palliative care.
Behind the glossy science language, however, a very different reality emerges: unapproved products, deceptive advertising, and a business model that converts fear and love into invoices.
This investigation looks at three emblematic players:
Wellbeing International Foundation Ltd (Bermuda/UK)
Stem Cell Institute of America and its network of U.S. marketing companies
Liveyon LLC, a U.S. distributor whose products triggered a multi-state infection outbreak
Together, they sketch a pattern of unproven interventions sold at high prices, with regulators and watchdogs struggling to catch up.
Important note: This article relies on court documents, official press releases, academic research and watchdog reporting. Allegations are clearly attributed; findings from regulators and courts are reported as such, not re-tried here.
1. Wellbeing International Foundation Ltd: Exosomes in a Legal Grey Zone
What they claim
Wellbeing International Foundation Ltd markets itself as a pioneer of “cell-free therapy” – a form of regenerative medicine based, they say, on exosomes and cell secretions rather than whole stem cells. Their website promises improved recovery, enhanced natural healing and longevity, with operations linked to London and a Bermuda registration. about.me
The company’s public-facing materials present authoritative-sounding figures – including a “Medical Director” and a “Senior Scientific Consultant” – to suggest deep expertise in neuroscience and regenerative medicine. Independent checks by a watchdog blog confirm parts of the physicians’ conventional ENT careers, but find no track record in exosome or stem-cell clinical research. yourwellbeinginternationalfoundation.blogspot.com+1
What critics and legal analysis say
A dedicated watchdog site and blog – Your Wellbeing International Foundation and The Truth About Wellbeing International Foundation Ltd – have published a series of investigations into the company. These articles allege that: yourwellbeinginternationalfoundation.blogspot.com+2yourwellbeinginternationalfoundation.blogspot.com+2
The business operates largely from virtual offices, with no straightforward route to verify clinical facilities.
It promotes unlicensed exosome-based interventions in jurisdictions where regulators have not approved exosome therapies for routine clinical use.
Marketing materials blur the line between legitimate hope and promises of improvement in serious neurological and developmental conditions.
A leaked barrister’s opinion, cited by the watchdog, reportedly analyses whether Wellbeing’s trading model could breach criminal law in England and Wales if claims are found to be misleading or treatments unlicensed. yourwellbeinginternationalfoundation.blogspot.com
Those conclusions remain allegations until tested in court. But they illustrate how a polished online brand can cloak a high-risk legal proposition in the language of innovation and compassion.
How the money could add up
The watchdog blog states openly that “millions of pounds” have been taken from vulnerable patients by Wellbeing and comparable outfits. yourwellbeinginternationalfoundation.blogspot.com+1
Even without verified company accounts, the arithmetic of this model is straightforward:
A single course of “regenerative” treatment can easily be priced in the £10,000–£20,000 range in today’s exosome/stem-cell grey market, according to price points reported in academic and regulatory analyses of similar clinics. publichealth.uci.edu+1
At 100 patients per year paying £15,000, revenue would already reach £1.5 million annually.
Over a 5-year period, even modest patient volumes could plausibly translate into multi-million-pound turnover, all from interventions that regulators have repeatedly warned are unproven and potentially unlawful when marketed as treatment. PET+1
In other words: you don’t need thousands of patients to build a multi-million-pound business – a few dozen desperate families a year will do.
2. Stem Cell Institute of America: The Seminar Machine Targeting Seniors
If Wellbeing represents the boutique “foundation” model, Stem Cell Institute of America (SCIA) and its related companies represent the industrialised marketing machine.
From hotel ballroom to high-ticket injections
According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Georgia’s Attorney General, SCIA co-founders and their companies sold expensive, unproven stem-cell injections largely to older and disabled adults. They did this using TV ads, direct mail and “free educational seminars”, often held in hotel function rooms and community centres. Medical Justice+3Federal Trade Commission+3Office of the Attorney General+3
The pattern alleged and now confirmed in court:
Broadcast ads and mailers promote a miracle alternative to surgery for arthritis and joint pain.
People are invited to “no-obligation” seminars, often framed as educational sessions.
At the event, attendees are funneled into high-pressure sales consultations.
Clinics linked to the marketing network then sell stem-cell injections priced up to $5,000 each, with many patients encouraged to buy multiple injections. Federal Trade Commission+1
What the court decided
After years of litigation, a U.S. federal court:
Banned the co-founders and their companies from marketing stem cell therapies in future.
Found that they made “bogus” and deceptive claims that their treatments could relieve serious joint and orthopedic pain. Federal Trade Commission+2Federal Trade Commission+2
Ordered them to pay more than $5.1 million in civil penalties and consumer refunds on state-law claims alone. Federal Trade Commission+2Primary News Source+2
Commentary on the case notes that regulators originally sought up to $17 million in monetary relief, suggesting the overall economic footprint of the scheme was far higher than the final judgment alone. The Niche+1
Annual turnover from “hope”
We don’t have a precise year-by-year revenue breakdown, but the numbers on the face of the case tell their own story:
Client clinics linked to SCIA were charging up to $5,000 per injection, often recommending 2–3 injections per person. Federal Trade Commission+1
If even 1,000 patients accepted a two-injection “programme” at $5,000 a shot, that’s $10,000 per patient – $10 million in sales.
Court documents reveal SCIA itself charged clinics thousands of dollars per year for marketing and coaching packages, on top of what those clinics took from patients. Federal Trade Commission+1
Put bluntly, stem cell “solutions” to aging joints became a big-ticket joint venture: seniors’ savings in, “regenerative” marketing out.
3. Liveyon: Contaminated Products and $21.6 Million in Sales
If SCIA is about marketing, Liveyon LLC is about products – specifically, cord-blood-derived “stem cell” vials distributed to clinics across the U.S.
Hospitalizations and infections
In 2018, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported clusters of serious bacterial infections – bloodstream infections, joint infections, epidural abscesses – in patients who had received Liveyon-distributed umbilical cord-derived products. CDC+2dshs.texas.gov+2
Regulators found that:
The products were not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the uses being promoted.
Manufacturing problems led to bacterial contamination, with patients in multiple states hospitalized. CDC+1
Guilty plea and revenue figures
In 2024, Liveyon’s founder and CEO pleaded guilty to distributing an unapproved new drug into interstate commerce “with intent to defraud and mislead.” Department of Justice+1
At sentencing, the U.S. government alleged that:
Sales of Liveyon’s products generated approximately $21.6 million in revenue between 2017 and 2018 alone – about $10.8 million per year on average. U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Those figures don’t capture the full financial impact, because:
Clinics then marked up the product price, adding injection fees, “procedure costs” and follow-up packages.
Patients may also have incurred travel, accommodation and lost income, particularly when drawn into cross-border “stem cell tourism”. Wikipedia+1
Liveyon’s case shows how a single wholesale supplier in the grey market can turn a lab product into an eight-figure business in under two years, even while exposing patients to life-threatening harm.
The Pattern: How False Hope Becomes a Business Model
Across these three cases – Wellbeing International Foundation, the Stem Cell Institute of America network, and Liveyon – the details differ. But the business logic is strikingly similar and matches patterns documented by academic researchers and regulators worldwide. Liebert Publications+2publichealth.uci.edu+2
1. Start with a grain of science, then over-promise
Real advances in hematopoietic stem cell transplants and a handful of niche approvals create the halo effect. Wikipedia
Companies then stretch this legitimacy to cover conditions where there is no robust clinical evidence: autism, Alzheimer’s, chronic pain, diabetes, “anti-aging,” and more. The Guardian+2Wiley Online Library+2
2. Own the narrative, not the data
Websites and seminars lean on patient testimonials, glossy graphics and scientific jargon, not randomized controlled trials. ScienceDirect+1
Critics and regulators repeatedly note missing trial registration, absent peer-reviewed results and misleading use of terms like “FDA-registered” or “clinically proven.” calmatters.org+2The Niche+2
3. Target the most vulnerable
Marketing is often tuned to parents of disabled children, seniors with chronic pain, and patients with progressive diseases – people with few options and high willingness to “try anything.” ScienceDirect+2The Guardian+2
Geographic clusters appear where local laws loosen oversight, such as Florida’s new regime allowing certain unapproved stem-cell interventions. WIRED
4. Price in the tens of thousands, not hundreds
Typical price points for unproven stem cell or exosome interventions sit in the $5,000–$20,000 per course range, sometimes more. Federal Trade Commission+2Medical Justice+2
Add “maintenance” injections or follow-up packages, and the lifetime spend per patient can easily rival a year’s salary.
5. Treat regulatory enforcement as a business risk, not a moral line
Academic mapping shows hundreds to over a thousand U.S. businesses marketing unproven stem-cell interventions in recent years, despite repeated warnings and crackdowns. publichealth.uci.edu+2PBS+2
Enforcement actions – like the SCIA judgment or Liveyon prosecution – show that for some operators, the upside of years of revenue outweighed the perceived downside of eventual penalties.
How Much Are They Making Off False Hope?
Putting all this together:
Liveyon: Government figures alone show $21.6 million in product revenue over two years – before clinic mark-ups – from unapproved products that caused serious infections. U.S. Food and Drug Administration+1
Stem Cell Institute of America & network:
Court-ordered monetary relief: $5.1 million in penalties and consumer refunds. Federal Trade Commission+1
Regulators at one point sought up to $17 million, implying far greater gross takings from patients and clinic-client fees over the life of the scheme. The Niche+1
Wellbeing International Foundation:
Watchdog sources allege “millions of pounds” taken in from patients, but audited figures are not publicly available. yourwellbeinginternationalfoundation.blogspot.com+1
Using typical grey-market price points, even a small but steady stream of high-fee clients – dozens per year – would be enough to reach seven-figure annual turnover.
Zooming out, research from bioethicists tracking the global market suggests that hundreds of businesses selling unproven stem cell interventions collectively take in hundreds of millions of dollars per year worldwide, with a significant share of that money coming from patients who never see meaningful medical benefit. publichealth.uci.edu+2ScienceDirect+2
Where This Leaves Patients – and Regulators
For families, the core dilemma is brutally simple:
Real stem-cell science is slow, cautious and evidence-driven.
The grey market is fast, confident and marketing-driven.
The three companies profiled here sit at different points on that grey-market spectrum – from glossy “foundation” to mass-marketing seminar machine to wholesale product supplier – but they share a common theme:
They monetise the gap between what science can honestly offer and what desperate patients are willing – or persuaded – to believe.
For regulators, the lesson from SCIA and Liveyon is equally clear: when enforcement does arrive, it must be loud, well-publicised and expensive enough to change the cost–benefit calculation for the next wave of would-be operators.
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