Fees Relaxed to Boost Stem Cell Research

MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin foundation that holds patents covering U.S. embryonic stem cell research will waive some of its fees to encourage more industry-sponsored research.

The changes follow criticism from scientists who said the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation's fees and its licensing system were driving some investment overseas.

Scientists around the country hailed the policy changes, which will let researchers share their cells for free and allow companies to sponsor research at universities without having to obtain licenses that cost up to $400,000.

"The notion of reducing fees and sharing cell lines and enabling companies to sponsor research at academic institutions is a good thing and should help push the research forward," said Brock Reeve, executive director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

The Wisconsin foundation controls three patents covering research by University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist James Thomson, who in 1998 became the first to grow and isolate human embryonic stem cells. The patents are broadly written to cover the cells and research techniques used by many American scientists.

Scientists believe embryonic stem cells may help them unlock cures to diseases because they can grow into any part of the body. But the field is still developing and faces opposition from social conservatives because days-old human embryos are destroyed to extract cells.

The foundation said it will no longer require licenses for companies that fund the research at universities and nonprofit institutions. Companies will still need licenses for research in their own labs and pay royalties if they bring products to the market.

The foundation, the patenting arm of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, also said it would allow researchers to transfer its stem cells among themselves for free. Costly fees had discouraged sharing and become a major irritant to scientists wishing to collaborate with others.

The changes come months after the California-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to revoke the Wisconsin group's patents, claiming they are invalid because other research paved the way for the breakthrough in Wisconsin. A review could take several months or years.