PharmaStem Patent Battle Heats Up

The PharmaStem patent battle heats up: Having filed for patent infringement against all the for-profit cord blood banks in the USA, PharmaStem is now trying to collect royalties from non-profit cord blood banks which collect donations to serve the public good. This prompts both Thermogenesis (see June 1 press release), a manufacturer of cryogenic freezers, and NETCORD (17June press release), an international consortium of public cord blood banks, to request that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) re-examine the PharmaStem patents. In the European Union, the PharmaStem patents were revoked by the European Patent Office (EPO).

PharmaStem has also released a threatening letter to OB/Gyn's across the country and to the legal departments of many hospitals, alleging that obstetricians are breaking patent law if they collect cord blood for companies that are not licensed by PharmaStem. On 2 July, Judge Sleet of Del. District Court issued a restraining order prohibiting PharmaStem from distributing false statements to OB/Gyn's. PharmaStem responded by offering OB/Gyn's an Amnesty Agreement.