In the original agreement, WARF gave Geron exclusive rights to develop diagnostic and treatment products in six types of stem cell-derived cell lines: pancreatic, heart muscle, nerve, blood, bone, and liver. Last August Geron claimed it had the right to negotiate for more types of cells. WARF said no, and asked a federal district court in Madison to render a definitive interpretation of the agreement.

The parties have now settled the matter themselves with a new licensing agreement. According to a joint statement, Geron holds exclusive rights to develop therapeutic and diagnostic products from neural, cardiomyocyte, and pancreatic islet cells. It still has rights to develop products from liver, blood, and bone cells, but they are nonexclusive.

The licensing agreement also states explicitly for the first time that academic and government researchers will have free access to patented stem cell materials. The "joint objective [of the agreement] is to make all of that available to the marketplace," says David Greenwood, chief financial officer of Geron.

Greenwood says Geron didn't have a problem with foregoing exclusive rights to three cell lines because it already has its plate full. The new agreement, he says, "reflects the technology as it's developed. It reflects what we've learned and what Geron wants to do."

WARF managing director Carl Gulbrandsen says, "We're very pleased with the agreement. We want Geron to be a success but we've always felt one small company can't do everything." Now, he says, "they're focusing their energies on three very valuable areas." He says the new agreement is much clearer than the old one and will further WARF's primary aim, which is "to make cells accessible broadly."

--CONSTANCE HOLDEN

Related sites
Geron Corp.
WiCell, a WARF-established organization that distributes stem cells
The University of Wisconsin's stem cell page