Brenda M. Simon

Pluripotent patents make prime time: an analysis of the emerging landscape

This paper explores the emerging landscape of patents related to induced pluripotent stem cells. These stem cells do not raise the same ethical issues as human embryonic stem cells, as they do not require the use of human embryos.When induced pluripotent stem cells burst onto the scene in 2007, they brought along with them a new approach to stem cell research. The field has moved along at a blistering pace, and this is reflected in the international patent landscape. Dozens of applications have been filed internationally, and in the past two years, the first three patents including claims to this technology have issued in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In our paper, we briefly examine the potential scope of the issued patents.

Unsettled Expectations: How Recent Patent Decisions Affect Biotech

A look back shows that broad patents are a thing of the past and biotech inventors face heightened requirements for patentability.

Fostering reproducibility in industry-academia research

Sharing can pose challenges for collaborations Many companies have proprietary resources and/or data that are indispensable for research, and academics provide the creative fuel for much early-stage research that leads to industrial innovation. It is essential to the health of the research enterprise that collaborations between industrial and university researchers flourish. This system of collaboration is under strain. Financial motivations driving product development have led to concerns that industry-sponsored research comes at the expense of transparency (1). Yet many industry researchers distrust quality control in academia (2) and question whether academics value reproducibility as much as rapid publication. Cultural differences between industry and academia can create or increase difficulties in reproducing research findings. We discuss key aspects of this problem that industry-academia collaborations must address and for which other stakeholders, from funding agencies to journals, can provide leadership and support.

Misuse Made Plain: Evaluating Concerns About Neuroscience in National Security

Misuse Made Plain: Evaluating Concerns About Neuroscience in National Security Kelly Lowenberg a , Brenda M. Simon a , Amy Burns b , Libby Greismann c , Jennifer M. Halbleib b , Govind Persad b , David L.M. Preston c , Harker Rhodes b & Emily R. Murphy d a Stanford Law School Center for Law and the Biosciences , b Stanford Law School , c Stanford University , d Stanford Law School and Director of SIGNAL , Published online: 16 Apr 2010.