Stem Cells
From: Dr. Ainsworth (ainsron@sbcglobal.net)
Mon Jun 21 16:45:08 2004
Did anyone else get this letter from PharmStem recently, implying that
we could be sued for using any stem cell bank not licensed by them?
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"We have been asked by concerned colleagues of yours to clarify the
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legal implications for Obstetricians regarding the collection of
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umbilical cord blood.
The question raised by your colleagues relates to the Obstetrician's
leqal liabilitv arising out of infringement of U. S. patents
5,004,681, 5,192,553,6,461,645,6,569,427 and 6,605,275 owned by
PharmaStem Therapeutics. Patent infringement occurs when a person or
institution practices all or part of a patented process. In the case of
umbilical cord blood collection by an Obstetrician, the Court ruled that
infringement occurs even if the cryopreservation and storage is
performed by a third party.
Sensitive to the delicate position you are confronted with, PharmaaStem
wants to assure you that we-have taken all the necessary steps to
protect the Obstetricians from any intellectual property infringement
liability, provided they work with anyone of the following licensed
companies:
Stembanc
Cord Blood Family Trust StemCyte
Newborn Blood Banking Securacell
LifeBank USA
Family Link
Norton Hospitals
Cord Partners HemaStem Therapeutics
California Cryobank
Lifestor
New England Cord Blood Bank Alpha Cord
In its license agreements with these cord blood banks, PharmaStem has
extended its license to the health care providers under the condition
they work with these licensed Blood banks:
"The license granted shall extend to any medical doctor, nurse, midwife,
hospital, clinic,.., (collectively, "Health Care Providers"), ".involved
in the Collection, .. .of any Cord Blood, ". that will be
Cryopreserved, by the licensed Cord Blood Bank.. ."
This language means that as long as you are collecting cord blood for a
PharmaStem licensed blood bank, you are not liable for patent
infringement.
In October 2003 a Federal jury in the United States Federal Court,
District of Delaware unanimously found that ViaCell / ViaCord, CBR
Systems, ("Cord Blood Registry"), Cryo-Cell International and CorCell
willfully infringe PharmaStem's patents covering the collection,
cryopreservation and storage for future therapeutic use of stem cells
derived from umbilical cord blood. Following this verdict, PharmaStem
has asked the Court to grant a permanent injunction against these
companies. An injunction would prevent the infringing companies from
continuing their cord blood storage activities."
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I emailed back the following to them:
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I received your letter today regarding legal implications of collection
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of umbilical cord blood. I am certainly not a lawyer, but I fail to see
how I have any personal liability if a patient chooses one of your
unlicensed competitors for stem cell preservation. Certainly, I am the
one who collects the blood. However, I am not the one who decides who
they use, I don’t steer them in a particular direction and I do not
charge for the collection. The patient brings the kit to me in the
hospital and ask that we honor their request for cord blood collection.
It is simply done as a service to my patients who desire it. Even If I
were to charge a collection fee, I don’t see how this letter applies to
the physician in the trenches. Please clarify this to me in plain
English.
