Xenotransplantation - Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Xenotransplantation - Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Xenotransplantation - Nuffield Council on Bioethics
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Animal-to-Human Transplants : the ethics of xenotransplantati<strong>on</strong><br />
C<strong>on</strong>venti<strong>on</strong> and patents are granted by the European Patent Office. In 1992, the<br />
European Patent Office granted a patent for the Harvard Oncomouse, a transgenic<br />
mouse strain that has been genetically modified so that it has a predispositi<strong>on</strong> to<br />
cancer. The decisi<strong>on</strong> provoked widespread protests from animal welfare and<br />
envir<strong>on</strong>mentalist groups and the European Patent Office has heard evidence relating<br />
to 17 different appeals against the patent. 41 The verdict <strong>on</strong> the appeals is still<br />
awaited. At the same time, the European Commissi<strong>on</strong> is trying to clarify the<br />
situati<strong>on</strong> with a directive that would allow patents <strong>on</strong> genetically altered animals and<br />
plants. 42 The directive has been submitted to the <str<strong>on</strong>g>Council</str<strong>on</strong>g> of Ministers and the<br />
European Parliament for their approval, but a similar directive has previously been<br />
rejected by the Parliament.<br />
4.54 A detailed discussi<strong>on</strong> of the ethics of patenting transgenic animals lies outside the<br />
scope of this report. The issues have been examined in some detail in a previous<br />
report of the <str<strong>on</strong>g>Nuffield</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Council</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Bioethics</strong>, and elsewhere. 43,44 Proposals to<br />
patent transgenic pigs produced for xenotransplantati<strong>on</strong> would increase the debate<br />
about the morality and legality of patenting transgenic animals. This adds force to<br />
the recommendati<strong>on</strong> of the <str<strong>on</strong>g>Nuffield</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Council</str<strong>on</strong>g> in their previous report “that the<br />
Government joins with other member states of the European Patent C<strong>on</strong>venti<strong>on</strong> (EPC)<br />
in adopting a protocol to the EPC which would set out in some detail the criteria to be<br />
used by nati<strong>on</strong>al courts when applying the immorality exclusi<strong>on</strong> to patents in the area of<br />
human and animal tissue.” 43<br />
41<br />
Oncomouse hearing ends up in c<strong>on</strong>fusi<strong>on</strong> (1995) Nature, 378:427.<br />
42<br />
European proposal reopens debate over patenting of human genes (1995) Nature, 378:765.<br />
43<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Nuffield</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Council</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Bioethics</strong> (1995) Patent Issues, Chapter 11 in Human Tissue : Ethical and Legal Issues.<br />
44<br />
Nati<strong>on</strong>al Academies Policy Advisory Group (1995) Intellectual Property & the Academic Community.<br />
56