Public trust, intellectual property and human genetic databanks: the need to take benefit sharing seriously

AbstractThe last decade or so has seen major advances in two key areas of biomedicine: new genetic technologies, including genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and the like; and stem cell technology. Both are touted as offering much promise in terms of our understanding of basic biological process and in the translation of this basic science into mainstream medical practice. But in both areas much further research must be done to realise this promise, and this hinges on the appropriate and adequate supply of essential research tools, particularly human tissue, human cells and human genetic information, which are referred to collectively here as