HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE

This Article Free via Open Access: OA OA Full Text Full Text (PDF) OA All Versions of this Article: 2006-0684v1 25/6/1507    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hansson, M. G. Articles by Jaenisch, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hansson, M. G. Articles by Jaenisch, R.

EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS

Commentary: Isolated Stem Cells—Patentable as Cultural Artifacts?

^aCentre for Bioethics at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala Science Park, Uppsala, Sweden;
^bDepartment of Law, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;
^cWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Key Words. Stem cells • Patent • Ethics

Correspondence: Mats G. Hansson, Th.D., B.A., Centre for Bioethics at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala Science Park, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Telephone: +46186113576 Fax: +4618506404; e-mail: Mats.Hansson{at}bioethics.uu.se

Received November 1, 2006; accepted for publication February 18, 2007.
First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS   March 8, 2007.



This article argues that an isolated embryonic stem cell basically represents a cultural artifact that has no equivalent to cells of the embryo, and that it is likely that the isolation of adult stem cells has a similar consequence. An isolated stem cell could thus be distinguished as something other than the stem cell existing as part of a human body. Since isolation of stem cells implies modification, product patents should, where the results carry enough novelty, inventive step, and potential for industrial application, as a matter of principle be a viable option for patent authorities. Questions of morality, which may affect the patentability, should also be viewed in light of the distinction between isolated result and body part. At the same time, it is essential that patent authorities do not accept broad patent claims that will be detrimental to research.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Triller Vrtovec and B. Vrtovec Commentary: Is Totipotency of a Human Cell a Sufficient Reason to Exclude Its Patentability Under the European Law? Stem Cells, December 1, 2007; 25(12): 3026 - 3028. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. P. Beltrami, D. Cesselli, N. Bergamin, P. Marcon, S. Rigo, E. Puppato, F. D'Aurizio, R. Verardo, S. Piazza, A. Pignatelli, et al. Multipotent cells can be generated in vitro from several adult human organs (heart, liver, and bone marrow) Blood, November 1, 2007; 110(9): 3438 - 3446. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]