Pluripotent Patents Make Prime Time: An Analysis of the Emerging Landscape

Abstract:     
This paper explores the emerging landscape of patents related to induced pluripotent stem cells. These stem cells do not raise the same ethical issues as human embryonic stem cells, as they do not require the use of human embryos.

When induced pluripotent stem cells burst onto the scene in 2007, they brought along with them a new approach to stem cell research. The field has moved along at a blistering pace, and this is reflected in the international patent landscape. Dozens of applications have been filed internationally, and in the past two years, the first three patents including claims to this technology have issued in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In our paper, we briefly examine the potential scope of the issued patents.

Keywords: Patents, pluripotency, stem cells

JEL Classification: O34

Accepted Paper Series