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PETBioNewsNewsAdvocate General paves the way for 'stem cell patents'

BioNews

Advocate General paves the way for 'stem cell patents'

Published 21 July 2014 posted in News and appears in BioNews 763

Author

Dr Antony Starza-Allen

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.

An advisor to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has said that certain stem cells derived from unfertilised human eggs that have undergone parthenogenesis should not be excluded from patentability....

An advisor to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has said that certain stem cells derived from unfertilised human eggs that have undergone parthenogenesis should not be excluded from patentability.

The Opinion was published by Advocate General Pedro Cruz Villalón in a case involving a US company, International Stem Cell Corporation (ISSC), which is appealing the rejection of two patent applications by the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) over a method of producing stem cells from parthenogenetically-activated oocytes and the cell lines produced, as well as corneal tissue produced by these methods.

The IPO rejected ISCC's applications on the grounds that the CJEU in 2011 had excluded from patentability any process that involved the destruction of human embryos, which the Court defined as anything capable of commencing the process of development of a human being, including, on the face of it, parthenotes (see BioNews 630).

ISCC argued, however, that the CJEU's 2011 ruling does not apply to its stem cells derived from eggs it said could not develop into a human being without paternal DNA. The UK High Court subsequently asked the CJEU to clarify if parthenotes of such qualities fall under its definition of a human embryo (see BioNews 702).

Villalón agreed, proposing that such material should be excluded from the definition of human embryo under European Law for the purposes of patentability. He explained that upon his interpretation of the 2011 decision, 'the decisive criterion that should be taken into account for determining whether an unfertilised ovum is a human embryo hence is whether that unfertilised ovum has the inherent capacity of developing into a human being'.

He continued: 'It now appears that a parthenote does not, per se, have the required inherent capacity of developing into a human being and hence as such does not constitute a "human embryo"'.

Villalón went on to point out that if a parthenote is genetically altered so that it becomes capable of becoming a human being then it would cease to be patentable. He also said that EU member states are not prevented from introducing laws to exclude such material from patentability on ethical or moral grounds.

The Opinion is not binding on the Court, which will give its judgment at a later date.

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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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12 January 2015 • 4 minutes read

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The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has cleared the way for the patenting of human parthenotes for industrial and commercial purposes, clarifying the definition of 'human embryo' excluded from patentability in European Law...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
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Brüstle in the Dock: ISCC v Comptroller General of Patents, Opinion of AG Cruz Villalón

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As BioNews 763 reported recently, Advocate General Cruz Villalón has advised the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that human parthenotes are not human embryos. The fact that he had to do so raises serious concerns about the ability of Europe's leading court to interpret bioethical legislation and challenges the authority of one of its most notorious cases....

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
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30 May 2014 • 3 minutes read

EU Commission rejects petition to stop funding embryonic stem cell research

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The European Commission has rejected a petition requesting a stop to the funding of research involving the 'presupposed destruction' of human embryos....

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
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Patenting parthenotes: High Court asks if parthenotes are 'human embryos' under the Biotech Directive

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The UK's High Court has asked the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to clarify if human parthenotes fall under the definition of a human embryo for the purposes of patentability...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
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Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
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3 December 2012 • 1 minute read

German court upholds Brüstle patent as valid

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The German Federal Court of Justice has ruled that a disputed patent held by Dr Oliver Brüstle, and the subject of a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against the patentability of human embryonic stem cells, is valid in its revised form....

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