Who Owns Stem Cells?

The patent landscape for both adult and embryonic stem cells is very crowded, with hundreds of issued patents having claims to methods of isolating stem cells, methods of propagating stem cell lines, methods of differentiating stem cell lines, and methods of using stem cells in treatment. This paper discusses some of the science, medical treatments, ethics, and IP concerns associated with the business of stem cells. For more information, the NIH maintains an excellent Web site at http://stemcells.nih.gov which provides extensive background information on stem cells as well as bioethical, legal, and regulatory information.