Prof Aisling McMahon was recently invited to speak at the European Society of Human Reproduction & Embryology (ESHRE) pre-congress course on “Adult stem cells: a valuable resource for addressing reproductive health questions?” This course was organised jointly by the ESHRE Special Interest Groups on “Ethics and Law” Stem cells” and took place on 29 June 2025 in Paris. It hosted presentations from leading experts in the field exploring a range of scientific, ethical, legal and regulatory issues related to stem cell technologies.
This ESHRE pre-congress course was designed for researchers, clinicians and policymakers interested in cutting-edge stem-cell technologies and their role in advancing reproductive health. The pre-congress courses take place each year in advance of the ESHRE annual meeting held this year from 30 June – 2 July 2025 in Paris. Prof McMahon was invited to discuss the ethical and legal issues related to the patentability of stem cell related technologies in Europe. Her talk entitled “Patents & human embryonic stem cell related technologies in Europe: a focus on ethics, equity and broader policy considerations” examined the patentability of human embryonic stem-cell related technologies in Europe, and insights which can be gleaned from cases on this area for emerging stem cell related technologies including the patentability of stem cell-based embryo model technologies.
In her talk, she examined relevant legal provisions and principles within Europe law applicable to the patentability of stem cell related technologies. She then explored relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and decisions of the European Patent Office related to the ordre public/morality exclusion in ‘European’ patent law. Finally, she explored the potential questions that could arise around the patentability of emerging stem cell related technologies in Europe, including for stem cell based embryo model technologies. She also discussed the potential ethical issues related to how patents, if granted, could be used in this context, and the role of patent licensing conditions.
Professor Aisling McMahon is a Professor of Law at the School of Law & Criminology, Maynooth University and is the Principal Investigator on the European Research Council funded PatentsInHumans project.
You can find out more about the PatentsInHumans project by visiting the project website: www.patentsinhumans.eu or by watching this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFVRHpzzuQM