美国威斯康星州和加州展开干细胞竞争

A  showdown  over  stem  cells  is  taking  shape  between  Wisconsin  and  California,  and  the  weapons  the  players  are  wielding  are  patents,  lawsuits  and  billions  of  dollars.

The  impact  of  the  outcome  isn't  limited  to  the  two  states,  parties  involved  say.  The  confrontation  could  greatly  influence  the  global  development  of  stem-cell  therapies,  which  might  someday  benefit  millions  of  patients.

On  one  side  is  the  Wisconsin  Alumni  Research  Foundation,  which  holds  two  wide-ranging  patents  on  embryonic  stem  cells  that  could  bring  in  millions  of  dollars.  In  1998,  UW-  Madison  researcher  James  Thomson  was  the  first  person  to  successfully  grow  the  cells  in  a  laboratory.

On  the  other  side  is  the  California  Institute  for  Regenerative  Medicine,  a  state  entity,  which  plans  to  distribute  $3  billion  in  stem-cell  research  grants  in  California  in  coming  years.  Voters  approved  the  state  funds  two  years  ago  in  response  to  federal  funding  restrictions.

In  February,  CIRM  said  universities  and  nonprofit  institutions  that  receive  the  grants  must  give  back  to  the  state  25  percent  of  royalties  on  discoveries  that  yield  more  than  $500,000.

But  WARF  doesn't  want  the  private  companies  working  with  the  institute  to  profit  without  WARF  receiving  a  fair  share.

In  March,  at  a  biotech  meeting  in  San  Francisco,  WARF  attorney  Elizabeth  Donley  said  the  CIRM  demand  amounted  to  a  commercialization  of  the  research.  She  said  WARF  may  assert  its  patents  and  seek  license  fees  and  payments  from  the  commercial  partners  of  grantees  -  such  as  a  company  that  a  university  researcher  in  California  might  pair  with  to  develop  a  discovery.

Ed  Penhoet,  vice  chairman  of  CIRM's  oversight  committee,  charged  that  WARF's  actions  could  bring  California's  program  to  a  halt.

"Theoretically,  could  they  close  down  research  activity  in  California?  Yes,"  he  told  the  Los  Angeles  Times.

'A  blockade'  WARF's  patents  cover  most  of  the  human  embryonic  stem  cells  in  use  in  United  States  labs.  The  patents  are  written  in  a  way  that  they  cover  not  only  the  human  embryonic  stem  cells  themselves  but  also  the  method  Thomson  used  to  derive  and  grow  the  cells.

In  essence,  the  patents  cover  most  of  the  human  embryonic  stem  cells  in  use  in  United  States  labs.

And  just  about  anybody  who  wants  to  use  such  cells  in  the  lab  has  to  go  through  WARF.

The  Foundation  for  Taxpayer  and  Consumer  Rights,  a  nonprofit  watchdog  group  in  California,  called  on  CIRM  to  challenge  WARF's  patents  in  court.

"It  would  truly  be  a  shame  if  a  research  organization  in  Wisconsin  threw  up  a  blockade  to  vital,  publicly  funded  research  in  California,"  John  Simpson,  stem-cell  project  director  for  the  group,  wrote  in  a  letter  to  WARF.

Mary  Maxon,  Penhoet's  deputy  at  CIRM,  said  last  week  that  "there  are  currently  no  intentions  of  suing  WARF."  But,  she  added,  "We  are  concerned."

Carl  Gulbrandsen,  managing  director  of  WARF,  said  in  a  recent  interview  that  the  foundation  is  discussing  the  issue  with  CIRM,  though  he  wouldn't  provide  details.

"We  don't  want  to  impede  research.  We  want  to  be  a  partner,"  Gulbrandsen  said.  "We  also  want  to  make  sure  work  that  is  done  in  Wisconsin  is  respected."

Meanwhile,  representatives  from  biotech  businesses  say  the  WARF  patents,  in  effect  only  in  the  United  States,  will  enable  companies  in  other  countries  to  develop  stem-cell  therapies  quicker  and  more  cheaply  than  companies  here.

"It's  definitely  hurting  this  country  in  terms  of  how  much  investment  we  make  here  versus  abroad,"  said  Joydeep  Goswami,  vice  president  for  stem  cells  and  regenerative  medicine  at  California-based  Invitrogen.

Gulbrandsen  said  companies  in  other  countries  would  want  to  sell  stem-cell  therapies  in  the  United  States  and  would  eventually  have  to  abide  by  the  patents. (责任编辑：泉水)

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美国威斯康星州和加州展开干细胞竞争