PXE Awareness
Volume 17, Issue 3 November 2011
European Union Rules Against
Patents on Certain Stem Cell Techniques
click to listen ( 19.98MB AUDIO SIZE )
An article by Maria Cheng in the October 18th issue of The New York Times reported that the European Union’s top court ruled that scientists cannot patent stem cell techniques that use human embryos for research. The ruling sets Europe apart from much of the rest of the world, where there are no such restrictions. The case resulted from a lawsuit filed by the environmental group Greenpeace. The decision by the European Court of Justice centered on the case of a University of Bonn researcher who filed a patent on a technique to turn embryonic stem cells into nerve cells. Greenpeace challenged the patent, arguing that it allowed human embryos to be exploited. The court said patents would be allowed if they involved therapeutic or diagnostic techniques that are useful to the embryo itself, like correcting defects. The justices concluded that the law protects human embryos from any use that could undermine their dignity. The court also objected to any stem cell techniques used exclusively for research, saying such use of embryos is not patentable. Greenpeace indicated that the lawsuit was an effort to get a clear, legal definition of what constitutes a living embryo. The group is concerned that patents on plants and animals could lead to monopolies in food production and exploitation of the human body. Scientists worried that the decision could greatly restrict stem cell research. Many fear that companies will be less interested in pursuing costly research projects because they will be unable to protect their inventions. Hank Greely, a law professor at Stanford University who directs the school's Center for Law and the Biosciences, said the decision seems like a reasonable interpretation of a 1998 directive by the European Union that forbids patenting the use of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes. In its latest move, the court extended that ban to products whose creation requires the destruction of embryos. The ruling will not have any direct legal impact in the United States, which has no such restrictions on obtaining patents on stem cell techniques. In Europe, it might provide incentive for using iPS cells, which are stem cells created without destruction of an embryo. Using a technique announced in 2007, researchers reprogram adult cells to turn into stem cells. Many scientists are now working to fine-tune that method. Embryonic stem cell research is still considered crucial in leading scientific circles. Douglas Melton, a stem cell expert at Harvard University, said he knows of few researchers who use cell reprogramming who do not also conduct research on human embryonic stem cells. A more detailed article is available in the October 18, 2011 New York Times.
European Union Members |