But that IS the point. Those "theoretical advantages" have thus far turned out the be bullshit, despite the massive amounts of research already done in the area. The entire ESC position is based on hype and speculation---not real-world results. At some point, someone HAS to start pointing out that the emperor has no clothes on.
The same could be said of any number of other inventions which we now take for granted. How many thousands of trials did Edison make, before he finally invented a practical light bulb?
The unpleasant truth is that ESCs probably can, and thus probably will, be used to create successful treatments for certain ailments. You can't hang your hat on the failures to date, because the first success makes your argument moot.