Hey, there! Log in / Register
MIT, Children's sue company that makes skin grafts from human foreskins
By adamg on Sat, 01/05/2013 - 1:10pm
In a lawsuit filed yesterday, MIT and Children's Hospital charge Shire Regenerative Medicine's product aimed at people with diabetic foot ulcers violates patents they hold for building skin grafts on a polyester matrix.
The two local institutions say Shire's Dermagraft, in which cells from newborn foreskins are laid on a thin membrane to grow a layer of skin that are then applied atop the ulcers that some diabetic patients develop on their feet.
They're seeking tons of money for the injuries the alleged patent infrigement has done them.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Complaint by MIT and Children's Hospital | 0 bytes |
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
hmm, news or titillation?
I can attest that MIT is involved in dozens of patent lawsuits at any point in time. And this being Boston, I imagine Children's gets involved in more tech-related court battles than the average hospital.
So what is it about this one, other than the slightly provocative nature of the technology, that makes this a news story worth reporting?
Foreskins, sure, but lawsuits in general
If you browse the UHub lawsuits pages, you'll see this isn't the first lawsuit by a local institution I've written about.
The last one before this: In lawsuits, BU charges companies have some gallium. Also see: A made-for-TV lawsuit: MIT sues television makers over digital sets.
I'm fascinated by lawsuits, what can I say? Throw in foreskins (and you'll notice I didn't include a single joke about cutting, slicing or mohels), it's definitely worthy of note in my book.
So you think that standard
So you think that standard MIT lawsuits should be covered on a blog like this? It's baby foreskins! This isn't exactly the Congressional Record.
"How can they write about 'X' when villages are being bombed in 'Y?!?!?'
Life is not all drive-by shootings and cyclists hit by trucks.
Titillation
I thought this was about foreskins not breasts.
Do you have a line to
the MIT legal office? Do tell.
Yes, to an extent.
Less so these days than in the past when I worked as a liaison to the 'tute. But it's not that hard for pretty much anyone to keep abreast of MIT's legal filings.
The company in question never
The company in question never charged for the foreskins, but they did accept tips.
Are you sure?
I heard they did charge, but it was 20% off.