An organism that is not capable of development does not constitute a human embryo, which is why processes involving human eggs can be patented in the European Union, according to a ruling by the European Court of Justice, thereby reversing its decision of three years ago. In 2011, the Court recognised unfertilised human eggs that had been stimulated to divide and develop as human embryos. At the time, the scientific community viewed this decision as an attack on medical research in the EU. Many scientists have high hopes for stem cell research and see it as an opportunity to cure various diseases, restore mobility to paralysed people or grow organs for transplants. Until now, the Court of Justice's ruling prohibiting the patenting of processes using unfertilised ova in the EU has prevented the commercialisation of medical discoveries in this field. Today's ruling by the Court of Justice, which allows the patenting of the use of such an organism for industrial or commercial purposes, paves the way for the development of biotechnology in the EU. In its latest ruling, the Court of Justice defines how the term "human embryo" is to be understood: "An unfertilised human egg cell must necessarily have the innate capacity to develop into a human individual. Consequently, the fact that a human egg cell activated by parthenogenesis begins a process of development is not sufficient to consider it a human embryo." However, if an egg cell has the innate capacity to develop into a human individual, it should be treated in the same way as a fertilised human egg cell. The British High Court of Justice referred the question of the interpretation of the term "human embryo" to the European Court of Justice, which is to rule on a legal dispute between the International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO) and the British Patent Office. The question at issue is whether methods using unfertilised human eggs that have been activated by parthenogenesis, i.e. development from an egg without sperm, can be patented. The 1998 EU Directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions states that the use of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes may not be patented, and the above-mentioned ruling by the Court of Justice three years ago recognised eggs stimulated to develop without sperm as human embryos. The British court wanted to clarify whether the term "human embryo"" refers only to organisms that can initiate a developmental process leading to the formation of a human individual, since, according to the current state of science, organisms such as those covered by the patent applications cannot develop into a human being. Author: medexpress.pl 09.12.2014
