US supporters of stem cell research are 'working furiously' to counter part of a bill banning patents on 'human organisms', Science magazine reported last week. They are worried that an amendment to the Commerce, Justice and State appropriations bill could strangle work on human embryo stem cells, despite a recent change submitted by Senator Brownback. The legislative language that he added on 14 November is intended to make it clear that the ban on patents on human organisms will not be extended to stem cells. But Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation in Washington, DC, says that Brownback's changes are 'not much of an improvement', adding that 'it's a backdoor attempt to make patent policy'.
Since 1987, the US Patent and Trademark Office has had a policy to reject any applications including within its scope a human being, but attempts to pass legislation have provoked debate. Some researchers and biotechnology companies have said that conservative lawmakers are seeking an 'overly broad' ban on patents involving human embryos, in order to further their agenda of giving embryos full human rights, according to the Washington Post. Scientists working on embryo stem cells are hoping to derive new treatments for a range of diseases. But critics of this research argue that allowing patents on such 'embryo products' would be inherently unethical.
The issue is now being dealt with by Congress for the first time, as part of the appropriations bill, following an amendment passed in July that would ban patents on 'human organisms'. Following concerns that the word 'organisms' could include stem cell lines derived from human embryos, Brownback added clarification that included the words: 'Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect claims directed to or encompassing cells, tissues, organs or other bodily components that are not themselves human organisms (including, but not limited to stem cells, stem cell lines, genes and living or synthetic organisms)'. But Michael Werner, vice president for bioethics at the Biotechnology Industry Organisation, said that this language could 'intentionally or inadvertently' harm technologies using embryos or embryonic cells. Congress hopes to complete work on all 2004 spending bills by this week, Science reports.
Sources and References
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Stem cell groups fret over patent amendment
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Funding bill gets clause on embryo patents
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Sen. Brownback adds clarifying language to appropriations bill barring patents on 'human organisms'
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