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WARF signs licensing pact with BD Biosciences

Holiday In Wales By Les Chappell • 06/30/06 Madison, Wis. - The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has finalized a commercial licensing agreement with BD Biosciences to develop new research tools for embryonic stem cell researchers and life scientists.

As part of the agreement, BD Biosciences, a division of the medical supply firm Becton Dickinson & Co., has agreed to a non-exclusive license to develop research tools and market those products to commercial and academic laboratories. In developing these research tools, it will have access to stem cells provided by WARF.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

BD Biosciences already offers research products such as specialized cell culture environments, specialty reagents, and drug discovery tools.

Andrew Cohn, government and public relations manager for WARF, said that BD Biosciences has held a previous research license with WARF, and this agreement adds a new research program to its portfolio. He said that if BD Biosciences keeps to its terms of the agreement, it should last as long as WARF's patent on the technology.

"This is just another example of how we are making the human embryonic stem cells available to a wide number of researchers," Cohn said, adding that BD Biosciences is now the 12th company to use stem cells derived at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Through WARF, the university also has provided stem cells to more than 300 academic research groups and 350 scientists worldwide.

In a statement issued by WARF, Joseph Gentile, vice president and general manager of BD Biosciences, said the agreement will enable his company to enhance its portfolio of research products and enable scientists worldwide to leverage the latest technologies to improve their results.

At press time, executives at BD Biosciences were not available for further comment.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's stem cell research was pioneered by Dr. James Thomson, and has been touted as a potential avenue for the treatment of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, and spinal cord injuries.

WARF's role is to support university research by protecting the intellectual property of university faculty, staff, and students, and by licensing inventions that result from their research.

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