Medicine and therapy developments based upon scientific principles of biosciences and health biotechnologies - with the use of live cells which are difficult to standardize - have been subject of wide public debates at the global level. The area has been recently defined as one of regenerative medicine that includes stem cell research and therapy, the focus of our study. This paper presents the main historical research events in cellular research, describes regenerative medicine's present stage of evolution and the characteristics of the main public policies developed, most especially in the leading countries and in relation to the regulation of intellectual property rights. A quantitative and qualitative analysis is developed, drawing upon different sets of secondary data collected internationally, bibliographic and archival information from global regulatory institutions, updated journal reviews as well as of specialized articles published in international journals. This information is reviewed guided by the following questions: which are the main trajectories in health innovation in this area? Which factors have most highly influenced its evolution? The paper concludes with reflections on the specific impacts of associated developments on collective health.
regenerative medicine; stem cell research and therapy; collective health; health public policy; intellectual property rights