Search the federal registry for adipose-derived stem cells and the list looks busy. Read the status column and a different picture appears. This guide maps the United States clinical trials landscape for adipose-derived cells: how many studies exist, how many are enrolling, how many stopped, and what a listing does and does not prove.
TLDR Roughly 170 to 195 registered studies with a United States location involve adipose-derived cells. Of the 169 records in the strict search, 75, about 44 percent, are withdrawn, terminated, suspended, or unknown, against 11 that are recruiting. Only 7 of the 169 are Phase 3. No adipose-derived product is FDA approved, and banking adipose tissue does not guarantee eligibility, access, or clinical benefit.
Important Disclaimer: Save My Fat does not provide FDA-approved treatments or cures for any disease, including the arthritis, neurologic, and other conditions named in this article. Banking adipose tissue today does not guarantee eligibility, access, or clinical benefit from any future therapy, clinical trial, or medical program. No adipose-derived stem cell product currently has FDA approval for any condition. All content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Patients must consult their own licensed healthcare professionals regarding all medical decisions.
A registry entry is a filing, not a finding. A record describes what a sponsor intends to test, and it goes up before results exist. It says nothing about whether the intervention worked.
That distinction carries weight here, because clinical trials are what advertising points to when it wants to sound scientific. The counts below come from one snapshot, taken on August 25, 2026.
FDA’s roster of approved cellular therapies lists no adipose-derived product for any disease. Save My Fat is a connector that links patients and providers with a United States tissue bank, and it does not collect, process, store, or treat tissue. What follows maps a research field, not a reason to expect anything from it.
What the adipose stem cell clinical trials landscape looks like today
It is small, overwhelmingly early stage, and marked by studies that stopped. Roughly 170 to 195 registered studies with a United States location involve adipose-derived cells or tissue.
The range is honest rather than sloppy, because the number moves with the search. A strict query against the intervention field returns 169 United States records. A broader search that expands related concepts returns 196, and those extra records contain verified noise.
Anyone publishing one precise number is hiding that judgment call. A registry search reproduces the picture, and none of those records represents an approved therapy.
How many studies are active, completed, or stopped
Most are not enrolling, and a large share ended early or went quiet. Of the 169 records in the strict United States query, 75, about 44 percent, are withdrawn, terminated, suspended, or unknown. Eleven are recruiting.
| Registry status | Records out of 169 |
|---|---|
| Withdrawn, terminated, suspended, or unknown | 75, about 44 percent |
| Recruiting | 11 |
Hand-verified against the broader query, the recruiting count reaches 14, so roughly a dozen studies are open either way. The stopped or silent group is many times larger than the open one. A completed count is not in this snapshot, and this article will not estimate one. A long list of records is not a long list of ongoing science.
Only 7 of the 169 records are Phase 3
Seven. That is the entire late stage picture in this snapshot. The rest are early phase studies, unphased device or procedure studies, or records with no phase listed.
| Phase | Records |
|---|---|
| Not applicable, device or procedure | 44 |
| Phase 1 | 37 |
| Phase 2 | 28 |
| No phase listed | 25 |
| Phase 1/2 | 21 |
| Phase 3 | 7 |
| Early Phase 1 | 5 |
| Phase 2/3 | 1 |
| Phase 4 | 1 |
Phase 3 matters because of what it demands. The federal Phase 3 definition describes expanded controlled and uncontrolled trials that gather the effectiveness and safety information needed to weigh overall benefit and risk, and it says such studies usually include from several hundred to several thousand subjects.
Seven records at that stage describe a field still asking early questions rather than closing them. Readers who want the ladder in detail can review what trial phases mean.
Which conditions are studied most often
Osteoarthritis dominates and nothing else is close. About 30 records pool knee, hip, and general osteoarthritis labels. Everything below sits in the low single digits.
| Condition label | Records |
|---|---|
| Osteoarthritis, knee, hip and general pooled | about 30 |
| Erectile dysfunction | 7 |
| Multiple sclerosis | 6 |
| COPD | 5 |
| Spinal cord injury | 3 |
| COVID-19 | 3 |
| Alzheimer disease | 3 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 3 |
| Parkinson disease | 3 |
| Androgenetic alopecia | 2 |
| ALS | 2 |
| Diabetic foot ulcer | 2 |
| Traumatic brain injury | 2 |
| Critical limb ischemia | 2 |
Read that table as a list of questions, not answers. A condition appears because a sponsor proposed studying it, and two or three records is a hypothesis, not evidence. FDA’s consumer alert states that no regenerative medicine products are approved for COVID-19, orthopedic conditions, neurological disorders, cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, autism, blindness, or chronic pain. Anyone living with one of these conditions should take that fact to a licensed physician.
Twelve verified trials, and what they actually show
They show activity, not effectiveness. Each record below was pulled individually from the registry. The cell source column matters: autologous means a participant’s own cells, and allogeneic means cells from a donor.
| NCT number | Condition | Phase | Status | Enrollment | Cell source | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT04440189 | Knee osteoarthritis | Phase 3 | Active, not recruiting | 114 actual | Autologous SVF | GID BIO, Inc. |
| NCT06121882 | Knee osteoarthritis | Phase 3 | Active, not recruiting | 173 actual | Autologous | Lipogems International spa |
| NCT04368806 | Knee osteoarthritis | Phase 2/3 | Active, not recruiting | 173 actual | Autologous AdMSC | Nature Cell Co. Ltd. |
| NCT03752827 | Rotator cuff tear | Not applicable, device pivotal | Active, not recruiting | 168 actual | Autologous ADRC | InGeneron, Inc. |
| NCT05667649 | Alzheimer disease | Phase 1 | Recruiting | 18 estimated | Autologous ADSC | Regeneration Biomedical, Inc. |
| NCT05951777 | Traumatic brain injury | Phase 2 | Recruiting | 51 estimated | Autologous HB-adMSC | Hope Biosciences LLC |
| NCT06654193 | Acute kidney injury | Phase 1/2 | Recruiting | 70 estimated | Allogeneic | Hope Biosciences LLC |
| NCT05789394 | Recurrent glioblastoma | Phase 1 | Recruiting | 20 estimated | Allogeneic | Mayo Clinic |
| NCT03268603 | ALS | Phase 2 | Active, not recruiting | 75 actual | Autologous | Mayo Clinic |
| NCT04520373 | Spinal cord injury | Phase 2 | Active, not recruiting | 40 estimated | Autologous | Mayo Clinic |
| NCT03332238 | Rotator cuff tear | Phase 2 | Active, not recruiting | 56 estimated | Autologous SVF | Hospital for Special Surgery |
| NCT03608579 | Hip osteoarthritis | Phase 1 | Active, not recruiting | 24 actual | Autologous | Mayo Clinic |
Autologous records outnumber allogeneic ones here, and the two allogeneic studies, in acute kidney injury and recurrent glioblastoma, are Phase 1/2 and Phase 1. One record, NCT04368806, an autologous AdMSC study in knee osteoarthritis, lists sites in South Korea as well as the United States. Nothing in the table is FDA approved.
Only one of the twelve has posted results. NCT03268603, the autologous adipose-derived MSC study in ALS, posted results that are single-arm and open-label with no control group, so no efficacy conclusion can be drawn from them: 66 participants started and 57 completed.
In that same single-arm, open-label record with no control group, 26 of 57 participants, 46 percent, had a serious adverse event, alongside 668 adverse events and 41 unexpected severe adverse events. The reported change in ALSFRS-R slope, minus 0.11 points per year, comes from that same uncontrolled single-arm, open-label design, which leaves nothing to compare it against.
The record is not internally consistent either. Its protocol section lists enrollment of 75 actual while its results section says 66 started. The other eleven have posted no results.
Recruiting is a staffing status, not a finding. The trial record for the autologous adipose-derived study in traumatic brain injury shows Phase 2 and recruiting, which together mean efficacy is still an open question. All of this work is investigational and early stage, and a licensed physician is the right person to read any record with a patient.
Does an active listing mean a treatment is close to approval?
No. A listing means a study was registered. FDA states on its patient information page that the inclusion of a product in the registry database, or the fact that a firm has registered with FDA and listed its product, “does not mean the product is legally marketed.”
The same page tells patients something blunter: “If you are being charged for these products or offered these products outside of a clinical trial, you are likely being deceived and offered a product illegally.”
Completion is not approval either. ADIPOA-2 studied autologous adipose-derived stromal cells injected into the knee, ran as a Phase 2 at a university hospital in France, enrolled 100 participants, and completed in March 2024. It was a negative result. The ADIPOA-2 record carries no posted results, and the negative outcome sits in the publication. A finished trial can answer its question with a no.
There is a regulatory reason these programs run as trials. FDA considers adipose a structural tissue, and the July 2020 FDA guidance states that isolating stromal vascular fraction is generally considered more than minimally manipulated. Under 21 CFR 1271.20, a product failing those criteria is regulated as a drug, device, and/or biological product, which means an investigational new drug application to study it and approval before marketing.
How to check any trial yourself
Open the registry, find the record by its NCT number, and read three fields first: overall status, phase, and whether results are posted. Each registry record carries an NCT number, which is how you confirm a study exists.
First, read the overall status. Recruiting means enrolling. Withdrawn, terminated, suspended, or unknown means the study is not running as planned. Second, read the phase. The registry glossary defines the labels, describing Early Phase 1 studies as exploratory work with “no therapeutic or diagnostic goals.”
Third, check the results section. In this field, most records have nothing posted. Fourth, bring the record to a licensed physician before drawing any conclusion.
A study nobody can point to by NCT number is a claim, not a study.
What tissue banking does and does not do here
Nothing in this landscape depends on banked tissue. Banking adipose tissue is preservation. It is not enrollment, not eligibility, and not a treatment, and it does not place anyone in the studies above.
Trials set their own eligibility rules, and sponsors decide who enrolls. Any future use of preserved tissue would depend on FDA regulatory status, physician guidance, and whether approved or investigational pathways exist at that time.
Readers who follow the enrolling end of the field can track active adipose MSC trials, remembering that a change in status is a change in paperwork, not in proof.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many adipose stem cell trials are running in the United States?
Roughly 170 to 195 registered studies with a United States location involve adipose-derived cells, depending on how the search is built. Only 11 of the 169 records in the strict search are recruiting. Registration is not evidence, and recruiting is not effectiveness.
Why are so many records withdrawn or terminated?
The registry does not explain each one, and this article will not guess. What the snapshot shows is scale: 75 of 169 United States records, about 44 percent, are withdrawn, terminated, suspended, or unknown, against 11 recruiting.
What is the difference between autologous and allogeneic studies?
Autologous studies use a participant’s own cells. Allogeneic studies use cells from a donor. Both appear among the twelve records above, both are investigational, and neither has produced an FDA-approved adipose-derived product.
Can banking adipose tissue get me into a clinical trial?
No. Banking is preservation, and it does not connect a patient to any treatment pathway or study. Sponsors set eligibility, and any future use depends on FDA regulatory status, physician guidance, and the pathways available at that time.
Key Takeaways
The adipose trial landscape is smaller and more fragile than a search result suggests. Roughly 170 to 195 registered studies with a United States location involve adipose-derived cells, and of the 169 records in the strict search, 75, about 44 percent, are withdrawn, terminated, suspended, or unknown, against 11 recruiting. Only 7 are Phase 3. Of the twelve verified trials named here, one has posted results, and those are single-arm and open-label with no control group. No adipose-derived product is FDA approved. Registration is not evidence, recruiting is not effectiveness, and banking does not guarantee eligibility, access, or clinical benefit.
Save My Fat operates as a tissue preservation service, not a medical practice or treatment provider. Stem cell and regenerative medicine regulations vary by state, including specific informed-consent and disclosure requirements in Florida, Utah, and Nevada governing tissue and stem cell services. Banking adipose tissue does not connect patients to any treatment pathway, and any future use depends on FDA regulatory status, physician guidance, and the availability of approved or investigational pathways at that time.
Readers weighing adipose tissue banking for potential future use can review current pricing or begin a conversation through the contact page.
Save My Fat partners with L2 Bio for laboratory processing and storage.
This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. Legal and medical review including neurology and neurosurgery input is required before publication. Please consult your neurologist or neurosurgeon before making any decisions about adipose tissue banking or research participation.
About the author: Oscar Tellez is the founder and CEO of Save My Fat. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from Florida Atlantic University. He has spent more than a decade in the regenerative medicine industry across product distribution, laboratory and vendor relationships, and provider training. He is not a licensed clinician, and this article is educational, not medical advice.
Related guide: adipose stem cell trials.
