美国威斯康星州和加州展开干细胞竞争(2)

Called  'too  broad'  The  WARF  patents  have  been  controversial  since  they  were  issued  in  1998  and  2001.  The  first  one  covers  embryonic  stem  cells  from  primates,  the  second  one  specifically  from  humans.

Embryonic  stem  cells  are  believed  capable  of  turning  into  all  220  types  of  cells  in  the  body,  from  bone  to  kidney  to  brain.  Scientists  hope  to  use  them  to  replace  or  repair  tissue  that  is  damaged  or  diseased,  in  conditions  such  as  Parkinson's  disease,  diabetes,  stroke  and  spinal  cord  injury.

Gulbrandsen  said  he  respects  the  intellectual  argument  against  patenting  human  life  that  some  have  raised.  "I  would  be  willing  to  say,  maybe  you  shouldn't,"  he  said.

But  he  said  WARF  had  to  file  the  patents  based  on  Thomson's  work.  The  five  stem-cell  lines  Thomson  developed  are  among  the  22  available  for  federal  funding  under  Bush's  policy  -  but  are  used  in  research  more  than  many  of  the  others.

A  federal  law  prohibited  government  funding  for  Thomson's  research  in  the  1990s,  so  Thomson  accepted  funding  from  the  company  Geron,  Gulbrandsen  said.  If  WARF  hadn't  filed  the  patents,  Geron  would  have,  and  that  would  have  made  it  even  more  difficult  for  other  researchers  to  access  the  cells  today,  he  said.

"We  really  didn't  have  a  choice,"  he  said.

Has  shared  cells  WARF  has  lived  up  to  its  promise  to  share  the  cells  with  other  researchers,  said  spokesman  Andy  Cohn.

The  foundation  has  shipped  cells  to  more  than  300  research  groups  in  21  countries  and  trained  more  than  360  researchers  on  how  to  grow  the  cells,  Cohn  said.  It  charged  $5,000  to  each  group  until  last  fall,  when  a  National  Institutes  of  Health  subsidy  helped  lower  the  price  to  $500,  he  said.

The  price  for  private  labs  is  steeper  -  up  to  $125,000,  plus  an  annual  maintenance  fee.

On  top  of  those  distribution  arrangements,  WARF  has  licensing  agreements  with  a  dozen  research  companies  covering  commercial  uses  of  stem  cells.

And  if  CIRM  were  to  commercialize  their  research  by  taking  a  cut  of  the  profits  then  the  companies  that  partner  with  researchers  funded  by  the  institute  could  be  subject  to  these  higher  WARF  licensing  fees.

WARF  must  act  on  its  patents  in  California  to  protect  the  licenses,  Gulbrandsen  said.  "If  we  don't,  (the  licensees  are)  going  to  say,  why  are  we  paying  money  to  WARF?"  he  said.

WARF  won't  disclose  how  much  money  the  licenses  bring  in,  but  Cohn  said  the  funds  have  been  put  back  into  research  and  facilities  on  the  UW-Madison  campus.  The  patents  could  eventually  yield  millions  of  dollars,  but  they  expire  within  a  dozen  years  and  it's  not  clear  if  stem-cell  therapies  will  be  available  by  then,  Cohn  said.

Simpson,  of  the  Foundation  for  Taxpayer  and  Consumer  Rights  in  California,  said  his  calls  for  CIRM  or  other  entities  in  California  to  sue  WARF  over  the  patents  have  not  led  to  any  action.  "There's  nothing  definite  right  now,"  he  said.

Money  is  blocked  CIRM,  meanwhile,  has  been  stymied  by  other  lawsuits.  Opponents  of  embryonic  stem-cell  research,  who  claim  it  destroys  human  life,  have  blocked  distribution  of  the  $3  billion  in  state  funds.

To  get  around  those  lawsuits,  CIRM  issued  special  bond  notes  in  April  after  receiving  pledges  for  funds  from  foundations  and  trusts.  That  allowed  CIRM  to  make  its  first  awards  that  month:  $12.1  million  in  training  grants  to  16  universities  and  other  institutions.

But  CIRM  has  not  yet  awarded  any  research  grants.

Gulbrandsen  said  WARF's  talks  with  CIRM  continue  -  and  since  little  money  has  been  awarded,  there  is  time  to  negotiate  a  truce.

One  possibility,  said  CIRM's  Maxon,  is  that  the  institute  might  pursue  an  omnibus  license  with  WARF  that  would  apply  to  all  of  its  grantees  and  commercial  partners. (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(2)