Stem cells are cells which have potential to develop into any any kind of cell in the body, in technical term they are characterized by the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and ability to differentiate into diverse range of specilized cell types.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is the non profit technology transfer office of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and involved in stem cell research and holds many patents on stem cells. WARF gains income by licensing patented technology to many companies in US and worldwide. WARF holds significant patents on human embryonic stem cells the patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 5,843,780 (claiming primate embryonic stem (pES) cells); 6,200,806 (claiming human embryonic stem cell (hES) cells); and 7,029,913 (hES)
The request for re examination was made by nonprofit organisation the Foundation Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) and the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) saying that the work done by university researchers are obivious and works are non-patentable and also impeding scientific progress.
On march 2007, The patents, US Pat. Nos. 5,843,780, 6,200,806, and 7,029,913, cover all embryonic stem cell research in the U.S. The USPTO granted each of the requests in September 2006 and rejected all claims of each of the patents .
In recent decision on re-examination of '913 patent, USPTO has amended claim to narrow down the scope of claim.
For Further reading:
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Alumni_Research_Foundation
3.http://www.pubpat.org/warfstemcell.htm
4. http://patentbaristas.com/archives/2007/04/03/warf-stem-cell-patents-knocked-down-in-round-one/
5. http://patentdocs.typepad.com/patent_docs/2007/04/warf_stem_cell_.html
6. http://patentbaristas.com/archives/2008/03/03/ding-warf-wins-round-2-as-stem-cell-patent-upheld/
7. www.stemcellpatents.com
No comments:
Post a Comment