The European Court of Justice on Tuesday (18 October) banned patents on stem cells extracted from human embryos that are then discarded, a ruling with wide-reaching implications for medical research in Europe.
In accordance with EU law, patents have to be excluded from any areas "where respect for human dignity could be affected," the court said in its verdict. The use of human embryo cells can only be for "therapeutic or diagnostic purposes" applied to the embryo itself, but "not for s...
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