Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on clinics promoting stem cell therapy for autism in children, identified for investigation following intelligence gathered by the ASA. See also related rulings published on 23 September 2026.
Ad description
A paid-for meta ad for Swiss Medica XXI Century, a medical clinic, was seen on 11 May 2026. It included the caption “Stem cell therapy for autism: positive changes observed in up to 80% of pediatric [sic] cases. Numerous families explored various methods and reported noticeable changes following stem cell therapy. Here are some of the improvements they described: ‘My child hardly spoke before. Now he forms short sentences, makes eye contact, and shows interest in other children. He looks at them, approaches, and attempts to play. For us, this feels like a significant step forward.’, ‘For a long time, I didn’t get much sleep. Now life in our family feels calmer. My son sleeps better, and we all get more rest. Seizures have become less frequent, and constant agitation and sudden outbursts have eased.’, ‘Previously, my daughter needed assistance with nearly everything—eating, brushing her teeth, and even getting dressed. Now, she can do many of these tasks on her own. She is more independent, calmer, and even makes an effort to participate in family activities. This change has transformed our daily life.’”.
Further text stated “Is stem cell therapy suitable for a specific child? A one-hour online consultation with a specialist at Swiss Medica can provide clarity on this matter […] Disclaimer: Stem cell therapy is not a guaranteed cure. Results may vary depending on the severity of the condition, individual medical history, and other personal factors. All treatment decisions should be made in consultation with a qualified medical professional.”
The ad featured an image of a syringe being injected into a spherical shape. Text over the image stated “Can stem cell therapy help my child with autism?”
Underneath the image, text stated “Find out in a Free Online Consultation” alongside a button labelled “Learn More”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the claims that stem cell therapy could treat or alleviate traits of autism were misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
International Medical Center LLC t/a Swiss Media XXI Century did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by International Medical Center LLC t/a Swiss Media XXI Century’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
The ASA considered consumers would understand the ad to mean that stem cell therapy could improve the traits of autism in children, including speech, eye contact, social interaction and independence, as well as associated medical and behavioural symptoms such as seizures, sleep disturbances and agitation. We therefore expected to see robust scientific evidence demonstrating that the treatment could improve traits of autism.
We noted that the ad stated “Stem cell therapy is not a guaranteed cure. Results may vary […]”. However, we considered that disclaimer did not override the overall impression that stem cell therapy was an effective treatment that produced meaningful improvements for the majority of children with autism who received it.
We understood from NHS and NICE Guidance that there was no cure for autism, and that stem cell transplants were not a recognised treatment in the UK for autism, including in children. Notwithstanding that, we had not received any evidence to substantiate the claims that the treatment could improve traits of autism. Therefore, because the claims had not been substantiated, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading Advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 12.1 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ad must not appear in the form investigated. We told International Medical Center LLC t/a Swiss Media XXI Century not to state or imply that their stem cell treatment could treat or alleviate the traits of autism unless they held robust evidence to substantiate the claim. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
