Patents on life are dangerous, but we do not oppose embryonic stem cell research

Following recent media coverage, we would like to clarify our stance on stem cell research.

Firstly, I want to be absolutely clear that we are not against stem cell research.

We champion environmentally responsible and socially just solutions, including scientific and technical innovation. Here's an explanation on why we challenge 'patents on life'.

All of Greenpeace's campaigns are grounded in science. The debate that we have had over many years is not over stem cell science but rather about what we call 'patents on life' where biological material and their progeny can become owned by companies.

Understanding patents rather than stem cells is what's important.

Drug companies patent drugs so they can get a return on their investment: they are given a monopoly on selling the drug for 20 years or more. Beginning in the US in the 1980s, a series of controversial decisions were taken to extend the patenting system to include biological material such as genes, cells, plants, GMOs and so on.

We were concerned that patents on such cells would encourage the commercialization of human embryos and could restrict scientific openness. This is because this system of patenting, what are essentially 'scientific discoveries' rather than 'inventions', has not in reality been a good way to deliver effective cures and treatments or promote scientific research.

A study on regenerative medicine (including stem cells) based on interviews with scientists, concluded that: "several barriers to the progression of regenerative medicine science from bench to bedside were identified. Intellectual space and freedom to operate was identified as a concern that had the potential to greatly hinder UK science and industry. The majority of respondents mentioned difficulties associated with intellectual property rights and freedom to operate in the intellectual space."

There is lots of evidence that allowing patents at too early a stage does not help drive innovation. Companies frequently use patents to block innovation, rather than investing where it's needed.

As a result, we spoke out against patenting biological material and in 2011 we welcomed a European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision that cells derived from human embryos cannot be patented.

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Patents on life are dangerous, but we do not oppose embryonic stem cell research