The goal of the research is to create an infrastructure for designing a policy on research, development, and knowledge transfer in the field of stem cells. This policy was intended to encourage scientific innovativeness as well as help lever Israel’s position as a leader in this field in the global arena.
The research focused on mapping the existing situation in stem cell research in Israel; examining alternative models for levering stem cell research and cooperation between various research sectors; and developing a legal framework that will assist cooperation between the actors in this field in the various sectors and the leveraging of stem cell research.
This innovative study provides policy makers with a broad picture of the stem cell research situation in Israel and the legal aspects involved in managing it. This study combines the expertise areas of two leading research institutions: the Samuel Neaman Institute and the Law and Technology Center at Haifa University. Samuel Neaman Institute researchers analyzed the scientific activity in Israel in the stem cell field in the academe, industry, and hospitals, using three questionnaires that were administered to companies, researchers in the academe, and research institutes and researchers in hospitals, including interviews with representatives of the various sectors. In addition, data from research questionnaires that were administered to lawyers and/or patent editors who are involved in the stem cell area were collected and analyzed, including application companies at the universities. A framework and methodology for analyzing and presenting the data was built, and the data from several different sources, including a bibliometric analysis of the quantity and quality of scientific output in the field of stem cell publications and patents as compared to other selected countries, was integrated. A report summarizing the findings was submitted to the Ministry of Science.
This is a joint research project of the Samuel Neaman Institute and Haifa University and it can be downloaded from the Samuel Neaman Institute website.
