FROM: International Herald Tribune
Retrieved from moreover.com

                                  " Firm's Stem Cell Rights at Risk
                                   Andrew Pollack New York Times Service
                                   Saturday, November 3, 2001

                                  Geron Is Chided for Lack of Progress in
Its Research

                                  The University of Wisconsin's patent
licensing foundation is
                                  threatening to revoke Geron Corp.'s
exclusive commercial rights
                                  related to human embryonic stem cells,
a development that could
                                  throw the promising field of research
open to other companies and
                                  academic researchers.

                                  The foundation said in a court filing
that it had "put Geron on
                                  notice" that it was at risk of losing
its rights to develop six types of
                                  human tissues from the stem cells
because it had not made
                                  sufficient progress in developing
medical treatments using those
                                  cells.

                                  Termination of its rights would be a
huge blow to Geron. But it
                                  would probably be welcomed by other
companies and academic
                                  scientists, some of whom have said that
Geron's rights would
                                  discourage others from developing
therapies using embryonic stem
                                  cells.

                                  Geron, a biotechnology company based in
Menlo Park, California,
                                  said Thursday that it hoped to resolve
the issue amicably but
                                  would "resist vigorously" any attempt
to terminate its rights. Human
                                  embryonic stem cells can turn into any
type of cell in the body. So
                                  scientists hope that they may one day
use stem cells to grow new
                                  brain, liver, heart or other tissues to
help repair injuries and treat
                                  diseases.

                                  Geron financed the University of
Wisconsin research that led to
                                  the first isolation of a human
embryonic stem cell by Dr. James
                                  Thomson, a biologist. The university
got a patent, and Geron got
                                  the exclusive commercial rights to
therapies based on six types of
                                  cells.

                                  Embryonic stem cells are controversial
because they are derived
                                  by destroying embryos, which some
people see as human life.

                                  Last summer, President George W. Bush
authorized federal
                                  support of research on the stem cells,
but only on already existing
                                  cell lines, such as those at Wisconsin.

                                  Geron shares jumped on the news, then
slipped back as markets
                                  fell after the terror attacks on Sept.
11. The shares rose 23 cents
                                  to $11.85 on Thursday.

                                  In August, the Wisconsin Alumni
Research Foundation, a
                                  university affiliate that handles the
university's patents, sued Geron
                                  to prevent the company from exercising
an option to gain exclusive
                                  rights to 11 additional cell types. But
Geron's rights to the six
                                  original cell types have not been in
dispute.

                                  In a document filed Tuesday in
connection with that lawsuit,
                                  however, the foundation said that it
informed Geron by letter on
                                  July 31 that it could lose the rights
to even the original six cell lines
                                  because its performance in developing
therapies had been
                                  "disappointing and unacceptable."

                                  The document does not specify what
problems the foundation
                                  thinks Geron is having. Andrew Cohn, a
spokesman for the
                                  Wisconsin foundation, would only say,
"We want to see evidence
                                  of development of all six cell types,"

                                  Geron said in a press release Thursday
that "in principle," the
                                  Wisconsin foundation had the right to
terminate the company's
                                  rights for any cell type that Geron did
not develop diligently. But
                                  the company said its efforts had been
"more than diligent" and that
                                  it had spent $48 million since 1995 on
embryonic stem cell
                                  research and development. "

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