The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the body that controls UW-Madison's lucrative stem cell technology patents, has decided to play nice. Criticized for its high licensing fees even to other universities, the nation's leading stem cell technology producer will now offer lower fees for universities and other non-profit research organizations.
On March 7, the Association of American Medical Colleges released a nine-point report outlining rules that research institutions must follow in order to obtain technology licenses. The document, which will allow technology transfers between universities regardless of patent regulations, was signed by WARF and a host of other top research universities including Harvard, Cal, Cal Tech, Stanford and Yale.
We believe the report is a good idea with respect to the promotion of stem cell research without imposing enormous financial burdens on those seeking the miracles promised by stem cell technology.
""The guiding precept is that discoveries made at universities are made in the public interest regardless of the sources of research funds,"" said Dr. David Korn, senior vice president of AAMC. ""We must never lose sight of the social contract that universities have with society at large.""
However, in signing this document WARF must remember that research ought to benefit non-profit university affiliates only, and not private corporations that could potentially place their own patents and restrictions on discoveries.
Clearly, what Wisconsin now faces is a battle of the brains, not to mention a battle of the wallets. In 2004, California voters approved a $3 billion bond measure to fund embryonic stem cell research.
Unfortunately, ideological hurdles in the state Legislature threaten to precipitate the exodus of prominent researchers to the better-funded California institutions. We hope this gesture of goodwill reaps rewards down the road in terms of both technological and economic reciprocity, but a similar statewide grant is long overdue for Wisconsin.
We applaud WARF for recognizing the potential for sharing knowledge in this lucrative and beneficial field but remain apprehensive that such agreements could hinder long-term progress for Wisconsin. Although we would prefer to see Wisconsin companies and universities benefit from advances made in Madison, the stakes are ultimately too high and the promise too great to limit access.
