As a Wisconsin taxpayer, I am grateful and proud of Dr. James Thomson and UW-Madison’s bioscience community for their human embryonic stem cell discoveries. But as I study the funding issues relating to Wisconsin’s stem cell enterprise, I have become increasingly concerned with how our state is managing the intellectual property associated with these potentially lucrative discoveries.
One of my questions has to do with why did Wisconsin agree to give exclusive rights to the Geron Corp. in Menlo Park, Calif., for using Wisconsin-patented stem cells to treat heart disease, diabetes and neurological disorders? My concerns have to do with both the nature of the diseases chosen and the potential economic and health care implications involved.
I am also concerned with the potential conflict of interest involved and exactly by who and why this decision was made and whose interests are best being served.