European Court Opens Door for Stem Cell Patenting
By GEN,
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
| 12. 18. 2014
Today the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled that human embryonic stem cell patents could be allowed if organisms can't develop into human being. The decision overturns a 2011 European Union ruling that outlawed patents on hESC research, affirming that pluripotent human stem cells derived from parthoenogenetically activated oocytes can be patented in Europe.
Parthenogenesis refers to the initiation of embryogenesis without fertilization by oocyte activation in the absence of sperm though a variety of chemical and electrical techniques. The activated oocyte contains a single or double set of maternally derived chromosomes but does not contain paternal DNA.
While patents on hESC have been upheld in the United States, the European Patent Office (EPO) has refused to grant many of the same patents on ethical grounds if the commercial exploitation of those patents goes against public order or morality. Combined with a principle of noncommercialization of the human embryo, human body, and its products led Europe to deny the patentability of hESC.
Today’s judgment was precipitated though an appeal brought by International Stem Cell Corporation (ISC), a California-based biotechnology company...
Related Articles
By Pallab Gosh and Gwyndaf Hughes, BBC News | 06.26.2025
Work has begun on a controversial project to create the building blocks of human life from scratch, in what is believed to be a world first.
The research has been taboo until now because of concerns it could lead to...
By Rhys Blakely, The Times | 06.24.2025
Scientists have created fertile mice from male genetic material alone, a breakthrough that could one day open the door to human babies who inherit their genes from two fathers.
The experiment, led by Professor Yanchang Wei at Shanghai Jiao Tong...
By Angus Liu, Fierce Pharma | 06.16.2025
A second patient has died following treatment with Sarepta Therapeutics’ Elevidys, raising more doubts about the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene therapy’s safety profile.
Sarepta and its ex-U.S. partner Roche reported the death early Sunday. Like the first case, disclosed...
By Gina Kolata, The New York Times | 06.20.2025
A single infusion of a stem cell-based treatment may have cured 10 out of 12 people with the most severe form of type 1 diabetes. One year later, these 10 patients no longer need insulin. The other two patients need...
