THEY may be the future of medicine, but stem cells are simply too controversial to draw money from investors, leaving a gap for non-commercial researchers to step into, a survey of recent patents reveals.
Just three individual governments and academic institutions account for a quarter of the patents held by the world鈥檚 top 20 stem cell patent-holders. 鈥淭he overall distribution looks heavily biased towards governments and academia,鈥� says Gareth Williams, author of the survey by the UK law firm Marks & Clerk, based in Cambridge.
Of the 2000 stem cell patents filed between 2000 and 2005, the University of California and the Japan Science and Technology Agency hold the most, with 50 each. And despite President Bush鈥檚 heavy restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, the US government is the fourth largest patent-holder, with 43.
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鈥淐hina is the sleeping giant awakening. It has the money, know-how and investment鈥�
In Europe, some countries ban embryonic stem cell research and others back it. That confusion has led to 13 stem cell patents being granted in the US for every one in Europe. China has almost as many patents as Europe, with 164 filings to Europe鈥檚 178. 鈥淐hina is the sleeping giant awakening,鈥� says Williams. 鈥淚t has the money, the know-how and the investment.鈥�
