University to drop stem cell patent bid involving Hwang

SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- A leading South Korean university has decided to virtually drop its efforts to obtain overseas patents for disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk's controversial stem cell production technology, school officials said Tuesday.

Hwang, a former veterinary professor at Seoul National University (SNU), has been
on trial since 2006 on charges of fraud and violation of bioethics laws after his
team was found to have fabricated laboratory test results to claim success in his
study.
Seoul National University, which holds the rights of the studies conducted by
Hwang's team, said it will no longer submit additionally required paperwork for
patent applications under review in 11 countries, including the U.S. and
Australia.
The patent was for the process used in producing the stem cell line, dubbed NT-1,
announced by Hwang in 2004. He had claimed in U.S. journal Science that the line
was created through somatic cloning, or through cloned embryos.
Despite revelations of data manipulation by Hwang's team, the state-run
university had not withdrawn the patent applications until now as most of Hwang's
work were subsidized by state funds.
The university, however, said it was considering "transferring" the technology to
a domestic research agency or company, hinting that it may relay the rights to
Suam Biotechnology Institute, a biotech lab run by Hwang.
"We've came to the conclusion that additional work for securing patents would
cost a substantial amount of money," said Seo Jin-ho, head of the office of
research affairs at SNU.
"Even if approved, the rights of the patents may be limited as most authorities
from respective countries have raised issues of bioethics violation," he said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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