Patent Application for Cloning Stem Cells

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Pitt researcher again pursues cloning patent

A University of Pittsburgh stem cell researcher has renewed his efforts to win a patent on a process to clone human embryonic stem cells, despite lingering questions from his past efforts.

Patent Office records show an amended patent application filed by Gerald P. Schatten and two colleagues was published Jan. 1, the same day a rival application was published by Oregon researcher Shoukhrat M. Mitalipov.

"They are just going through the process," Pitt spokeswoman Anita Srikameswaran said when asked about the filing. She noted the original application was filed several years ago.

Schatten did not respond to requests for comment. Under standard university policy, Schatten would share any royalties from the patent with his employer. Srikameswaran said Magee-Womens Research Institute has a financial interest in the patent.

His application refers to a stem cell cloning process developed by his one-time colleague, disgraced South Korean researcher Hwang Woo-suk. Patent reviewers challenged a number of claims in his earlier submission....