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Stem Cell Patent Halts Hospital's Collection

eldavojohn writes "It's a classic case that comes up when dealing with patents. A hospital's research on the donated brains of deceased children has been in limbo for three years because of a challenge from a patent holder. The double-edged sword of patents that spurred investment into the field will also cause chilling effects on research like the case of the Children's Hospital of Orange County. They've now been forced to shift the money from the lab to lawyers in order to deal with this ongoing patent dispute over a technique that was developed to extract stem cells at the Salk Institute. Unfortunately the Salk Institute failed to patent the technology, so a company named StemCells happily had it approved. The real disheartening news is that CHOC's Dr. Philip H. Schwartz — the doctor collecting the cells — was one of the original researchers who helped developed this technique at the Salk Institute. Now he can't even use the technique he helped create. Schwartz has since been instructed not to publicly discuss the case further. Research interests are clashing with commercial interests in a classic case that causes one to wonder if patents surrounding medical techniques like this stretch too far. As for the people that donated their dead child's brain to research, those valuable stem cell cultures have been kept in storage instead of being disseminated to research labs (which desperately need them) across the country."

10 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How patently stupid. by Jeng · · Score: 4, Informative

    Didn't RTFA?

    One of the doctors complaining is one of the doctors that invented the process.

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    Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
  2. Re:here you go by iamhassi · · Score: 4, Informative

    Mr. Martin M. McGlynn serves as President, Chief Executive Officer, Director of StemCells Inc....$1,324,380 per year

    'Tis good to be a patent troll

    Why do we have patents on life-saving techniques? Can you imagine if there was a patent on washing your hands or stitching a wound?

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    my karma will be here long after I'm gone
  3. Re:One can always hope by Spazztastic · · Score: 2, Informative

    Even better, I found a youtube clip of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOe_4mgmyyA

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    Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
  4. Re:ah, thank goodness by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 3, Informative

    The research in question was never effected by Christian fundamentalists since it does not involve embryonic stem cells. Of course that is true of all of the promising stem cell research. Christians do not have a problem with stem cell research, Christians have a problem with embryonic stem cell research. What is nice about this is that none of the research that is showing promise for providing cures involves embryonic stem cells.

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    The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
  5. Research exemption by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 3, Informative

    He didn't assume it, he asked about it.

    And may have been thinking about the 271(e)(1) exemption or "Hatch-Waxman exemption".

  6. Re:The value of defensive patents. by MojoRilla · · Score: 3, Informative
    It is unclear that StemCells was wrongly awarded its patent. From the TFA:

    The roots of the conflict go back several years. While at Salk Institute, Schwartz created a new application out of an existing technique: deriving neural stem cells from post-mortem brains, then growing them in culture. At the same time, StemCells was doing similar things.

    So it seems that both inventions were made at the same time, independently. In that case, either party may file for and be awarded the patent in the US.

  7. Re:Hmm by CthulhuDreamer · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's from the lead-in to most CSI:Miami episodes. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Horatio%20Caine/

  8. Re:prior art? by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Informative

    The word you're looking for is "afoul". Though you did conjure up an interesting image.

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    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  9. Re:Become part of the brain drain. by 2obvious4u · · Score: 2, Informative

    China? Horrifying Education System? I used to teach in China. That is not one of China's weaknesses. Lack of law enforcement, yes, lack of education no. I saw an automobile accident, the other person didn't have insurance so the guy who got hit beat the crap out of the guy who hit him. The youth in China are ready for change and much of China is changing with them. They are lacking in some human rights, but their are other areas that make up for it. Cost of living is dirt cheap there, as an American Ex-Pat there you can always get a job teaching English, if nothing else. Their Drug laws are much stricter. But if I had an offer to work on stem cell research in China, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Sure beats getting sued in the US.

    Whats wrong with India? Half the people I work with are from India, its a democratic country and developing at a breakneck pace; not as fast as China but democracy moves slower than communism with the advantage of more freedom.

    What kind of crap have you been reading about the UAE? Not all UAE states have draconian laws for women. Dubai has a western like culture and is very tolerant of westerners. Yes some of the UAE states are strict, but not all; and it is changing for the better.