Ryan Benton, the first patient with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) to be granted FDA approval for allogeneic adult stem cell therapy in the US, turned 30 this year. Benton was diagnosed DMD at the age of three and expected to live into his late teens or early twenties. Because US laws restricted adult stem cell therapy, Benton was forced to travel to Panama seven times to receive the life-saving treatments. After five years of hard work and successful treatments, Benton became the first (and only) DMD patient granted FDA approval for this form of medical therapy inside the United States. An investigational new drug (IND) for compassionate use application was approved, allowing Benton to receive treatment in his hometown, Wichita, KS.
