Stem Cell Freedom Act

Hi, this is Charles Hoskins broadcasting live from warm, sunny Colorado. I wish I was working in the office today, so I wasn't able to get up to Cheyenne, but I wish I was in rough and rugged Wyoming today, my other home, where I spend more time. Something incredible has happened. Last year, we had long conversations with many different stakeholders from across the United States and abroad about increasing the accessibility of stem cells and stem cell-related products in the United States. As many of there's an amazing renaissance happening right now with autologous and allogenic stem cells.

For example, in China, they've cured type 1 diabetes in certain patients and achieved amazing results in the treatment of HIV. They have incredible regenerative capabilities to restore joints, nerves, heal the heart, and heal the kidneys. It's absolutely incredible. We brought a lot of people together at the Hoskinson Policy Office under the great leadership of Karen Wheeler and her team, and we started a conversation about how to get a state in the United States to open the doors, similar to how a state opened the doors years ago for the cryptocurrency industry, and build a stem cell industry in that state. Many people came together and recognized that this could truly benefit and enhance the world of stem cells and build up the state.

Senator Barlow brought forth to the Wyoming Senate the idea of SF48, the Stem Cell Freedom Act. It was co-sponsored by Senator Brennan, Hutchins, and Representatives Clauston and Haraldson. We all worked together to create this piece of legislation. I am very pleased to announce that it has passed unanimously, and the governor signed it today. It is now the law of the land in the state of Wyoming.

I'm incredibly proud of everyone who worked on this and all the hard work that went into it. I wanted to show you the bill quickly because this is an example of rare bipartisanship and unanimity across a state and a country that can be very fragmented and polarized. You can achieve these things when you're doing it for the right people. This is the 68th Wyoming Legislature, and as I said, SF48, the Stem Cell Freedom Act. These are all the sponsors and co-sponsors who did an enormous amount of work, especially Senator Barlow and Representative Haraldson.

It was a heavy lift. It went from "What is this? What are they doing?" to "Hey, actually, this is really cool." If you take a look at the status, it passed 59 to 0, with three absences, and it passed the Senate 31 to 0.

This was a unanimous piece of legislation, with Democrats and Republicans coming together. I'm really proud of that. Let me read it out here. The Stem Cell Freedom Act is related to public health and safety, authorizing physicians to recommend and perform stem cell therapy on patients as specified, allowing health care insurers to cover stem cell therapies as specified, prohibiting the state board of medicine from taking action against a physician's license due to the use or promotion of stem cell therapy, prohibiting the state of Wyoming from denying patients access to stem cell therapy, provided that no cause for action is created against a person properly performing stem cell therapy, requiring compliance as specified, and amending the powers of the Wyoming State Board of Medicine, providing definitions and an effective date. Basically, what this does is say that if you are in an IRB or have already passed phase one of a clinical trial, which means you have that safety signal, you can take your stem cells, and a physician can administer them.

It creates a whole framework within the state to do that. Most importantly, it protects the physician from an overly litigious state medical board. In medicine, when you do things, you can have good outcomes, but if it's an effective treatment, there's also a chance of a bad outcome. You can't have a situation where, for every hundred procedures, if there's one bad procedure, someone from the board can come in and say, "Well, it wasn't FDA approved. I'm taking your license away.

" No doctor is going to embrace that. There's no incentive for them to participate. To create an industry and attract people to the state, you have to establish what the threshold of safety is. Taking autologous stem cells—your own stem cells, which your body is already making—after passing a phase one clinical trial is a sufficient safety signal. Having a physician involved, disclosing information to the patient, and allowing them the right to try is important.

We're proud that the state of Wyoming recognized the huge industry currently based in the Caribbean and Central America, often conducted by people who aren't even physicians, using who knows what. We have many individuals, whether they be MMA fighters, heroes from the special operations community, firefighters, police officers, or celebrities like Mel Gibson, who have sought treatment. For example, Mel Gibson smoked for 40 years and had terrible emphysema. He went to Raritan's Clinic to receive stem cell treatment. This law brings all that offshore business into Wyoming, allowing people to use their stem cells to heal themselves.

It's a novel concept, as long as they consent, are informed of potential risks, and a doctor is involved in the process. Just it did years ago with cryptocurrency, Wyoming is now taking a chance on the emerging regenerative medicine world. This is just the beginning of a whole family of initiatives and endeavors that many people have worked on for a long time. It's exciting to see this bipartisan effort come together. Our policy office had to engage with many individuals, including Dr.

Harmon from California, who has been in this market for over 30 years and is one of the world's foremost experts. He flew out to Gillette and met with various senators and lawmakers to discuss the pros and cons, what has worked well, and how this industry has evolved. Many physicians had questions, and they all participated in discussions. Senator Barlow, being a doctor of veterinary medicine himself, facilitated these dialogues. Ultimately, it was a collective leadership effort from many amazing people working hard for a long time to bring patients the right to try stem cells in Wyoming.

They no longer have to leave the United States to seek treatment in Mexico, Costa Rica, or elsewhere, injecting who knows what from who knows who. They can now stay in Wyoming, use their own stem cells, and work with qualified, capable, and licensed doctors in the United States. This is a major step forward, and we're excited to see where this goes and how this ecosystem evolves and matures. At Hoskinson Health, our clinic is always expanding, and we're building a CGMP lab. We're excited to work with the broader American Stem Cell Network to continue research, clinical trials, and now use the Stem Cell Freedom Act to offer and explore options with patients.

We already have a pulmonologist coming on board, and we're examining our patient panels. We'd love to see if the Mel Gibson experience can be expanded to help people who are oxygen-dependent get off oxygen. We're also eager to explore where stem cells can be used in orthopedic contexts, anti-aging, and anti-inflammation. Additionally, we're working with the University of Wyoming on a device to simplify the harvesting of stem cells. We're trying to figure out how to obtain adipose-derived stem cells—stem cells from fat—and make the process uniform, eliminating the need for liposuction and allowing for standardized and cost-effective culture expansion.

Every part of this process aims to make it cheaper, faster, and safer to extract stem cells, culture expand them, and integrate them into the healing process for patients. Long-term, this can help many people. It's a big passion of mine and my family's. My family has been in medicine for 70 years; my grandfather started as an OBGYN in the 1950s, and my father, uncle, and brother are all doctors. This is part of our family's legacy.

Today, our clinic, Hoskinson Health, in Gillette, Wyoming, celebrated its 20,000th patient. We have more than two-thirds of the population of Gillette as patients at Hoskinson Health. We're proud to watch this program grow, expand, and evolve. Politics can be brutal, and there are disagreements. Many of that the governor and I have had some struggles regarding the Wyoming Stable Point Act, which didn't work out well.

However, he signed the bill today, demonstrating maturity and leadership. As one of his parting gifts before leaving office in 2026, he has now created an entirely new industry in Wyoming, making it the best in class for the entire United States. This will bring all the offshore business currently happening in places like Thailand, Mexico, and Costa Rica to Wyoming. I believe Wyoming will be the place that cures many diseases previously considered uncurable. It will address chronic ailments that people have been told they must manage for the rest of their lives.

This will revolutionize the cost of care for everyone, everywhere. I'm proud that a state of ranchers could bring this to the United States and revolutionize healthcare. I want to thank everyone from the governor to all the lawmakers in Wyoming for showing phenomenal leadership and foresight. This is just the beginning; there are many more things to do. There will be more legislation, similar to the cryptocurrency industry, which started with a single bill and has now grown to over 30.

You can see how far we've come as an industry, with Kraken getting a master account with the Federal Reserve. The Wyoming miracle is influencing the direction of the federal government. I love that Wyoming gets to lead the nation yet again, and this will revolutionize and transform the stem cell industry and, more broadly, the regenerative medicine industry. We need to consider how we move from treatments to cures. Instead of doctors prescribing something for the rest of your life, they can actually fix the problem.

We owe it to all the people who have been injured in war, to those who have given so much and are now worn down and need help. We owe it to everyone recovering from injuries or cancer who now suffer from peripheral neuropathies or other issues. They need help, and it's not a small number of people—it's millions of Americans. Many in Wyoming recognize it's a shame when an American has to leave the country to seek help. That doesn't make sense for the richest nation in the world, which supposedly has the best healthcare.

They may not be able to get treatment in California or New York, but they can receive it in Wyoming. I want to thank everyone involved, especially the policy office and Karen Wheeler for her amazing leadership. She worked overtime on this. It was a long haul, and we're all proud of that. It shows that maybe, just maybe, we can be bipartisan and get things done.

The fact that it passed unanimously is special. I don't often see things like that, and that's okay. We'll take the wins where we can get them. I'm excited that the governor signed it today, and the state of Wyoming is open for business. I believe it will take effect in July.

There's a lot to do. As I mentioned, we're building a CGMP facility and bringing in many domain experts. Wyoming will also receive a big brain upgrade. I fully anticipate increased funding at the University of Wyoming because it is now the best place in the United States to run a stem cell clinical trial due to this law. We're committed to continuing research and pushing things forward.

We're already looking at the amazing advancements made abroad. Some countries, especially China, are ahead of us in certain respects, which bothers me as an American. We invented this industry, and we should be thriving and dominating it. I want to ensure that much of the innovation abroad comes back home, allowing us to help Americans get back to where they need to be. Today is a phenomenal day, a wonderful way to end the week.

I'm excited about it, and I can't wait to head up to Wyoming tonight. I'm sorry I missed the signing; unfortunately, I was stuck in Colorado. That's the challenge of having a split life. Maybe one day I can fully move up there. In any event, thank you so much, Rough and Rugged Wyoming.

You've once again proven that you're not just first in the nation, but the best in the nation. It's a good day for everyone who needs a little help. It will take time to get there, but the cavalry is coming. Good night, and God bless.