The breath of life: recent patents on placental and amnion derived cells for treatment of bronchopulmonary dysplasia

The placenta is a rich source of stem cells that can be easily isolated unencumbered by the ethical dilemmas of embryonic stem cells. There are a number of tissue banks across the world offering expectant parents the opportunity to harvest and store placenta, amniotic fluid and cord blood-derived stem cells. Consequently, the patent landscape surrounding the isolation, purification, expansion and use of such stem cells has grown to a level of complexity to reflect this. In this review, we summarise the development of intellectual property encompassing this unique area of regenerative medicine, focusing on patents filed on stem cells derived from the human amnion and their application for the treatment of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.