Stem Cell Patents Loom over U.S.

This announcement caught my eye because the University of Wisconsin and Geron have been criticized recently of claiming egregious IP protection on embryonic stem cell research technologies in the United States. Check out this LA Times commentary for a good summary. CALIFORNIA’S $3-billion stem cell program has encountered repeated setbacks since it was approved by […]

This announcement caught my eye because the University of Wisconsin and Geron have been criticized recently of claiming egregious IP protection on embryonic stem cell research technologies in the United States. Check out this LA Times commentary for a good summary.

CALIFORNIA'S $3-billion stem cell program has encountered repeated setbacks since it was approved by voters 17 months ago. Now it faces an entirely new and potentially even more worrisome challenge arising from two powerful patents — patents No. 5,843,780 and No. 6,200,806, to be exact — which cover all human embryonic stem cells and the method by which they're made.

Patents are supposed to stimulate innovation. That's why they exist. But it appears that these two patents, held by a foundation affiliated with the University of Wisconsin, may exert a dangerous monopoly over all future research in the field — one that may pose an even greater long-term threat to stem cell science than the Bush administration's federal funding ban.

Here's the background. In mid-March, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, or WARF, announced that the state of California must sign a legal contract and pay user fees to the foundation if any state-funded scientists want to work with human embryonic stem cells of any kind. Yes, of any kind.

WARF will likely make the same demands of other entities that wnat to work with embryonic stem cells.

Meanwhile, in other countries, scientists at biotech companies seem to be figuring out how to maintain intellectual property while sharing their technologies.

At Bio2006 Stem Cell Innovations, Inc. (SCLL.OB) announced today that the Company will commercialize their proprietary platform of human pluripotent (embryonic) stem cells in Europe through their newly established European R & D facility in Leiden, the Netherlands.

Mahendra Rao, former leader of stem cell research at the National Institute on Aging who resigned to join Invitrogen, also mentioned the worrisome state of embryonic stem cell IP in the United States compared with the more open situation overseas in my Q&A-slash-podcast with him.