Patents draw new lines in the battle to commercialize stem cells.

UNITED States; UNITED Kingdom

FATE Therapeutics Inc.; IPIERIAN Inc.; UNITED States. Patent & Trademark Office; UK Intellectual Property Office

The article reports on issues about patent rights for induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. It looks into the awarding of the first patent for a method of making iPS cells to Fate Therapeutics Inc. by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in January 2010. It discusses a patent granted to iPierian by Great Britain's Intellectual Property Office to iPierian Inc. for a technique developed by Japanese scientist Kazuhiro Sakurada. The evolution of the methods for the creation of iPS cells is noted.