Human induced pluripotent stem cells: a review of the US patent landscape

Human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and human embryonic stem cells are cells that have the ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types. Embryonic stem cells are derived from human embryos; however, by contrast, human iPS cells can be obtained from somatic cells that have undergone a process of 'reprogramming' via genetic manipulation such that they develop pluripotency. Since iPS cells are not derived from human embryos, they are a less complicated source of human pluripotent cells and are considered valuable research tools and potentially useful in therapeutic applications in regenerative medicine. Worldwide, there are only three issued patents concerning iPS cells. Therefore, the patent landscape in this field is largely undefined. This article provides an overview of the issued patents as well as the pending published patent applications in the field.