Patenting Genes and Other Biotech Development Issues
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Genes are “products of nature” which are not legally allowed to be patented. Additionally, giving monopoly to a company on a human gene is immoral. Thus go the arguments of those like American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others who have filed suits against gene patenting.
A U.S. District Court ruled in favor of ACLU, and the company concerned, Myriad Pharmaceuticals, have gone in appeal.
The basic argument of gene patenting advocates is that developing biotech drugs is a highly expensive process, and that companies will have an incentive to do this and develop lifesaving diagnostics and therapies only if their discoveries are protected as intellectual property. The Patent Office has been granting patents on genes on the ground that once these are isolated from their natural environment in the body, they cease to be products of nature.
Other cases in courts include patentability of business methods, such as methods of analysis, data interpretation, and performing certain tasks including the administering of diagnostic tests and therapeutics.
Personalized medicine is a new development related to genes. A person’s genetic makeup can determine which treatments will be most effective for that person, as identified through genetic diagnostic tests. Companies have been developing such tests in the laboratory and these laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) are now being increasingly overseen by the Food and Drug Administration to assess the risks involved.
Read the article at TechJournal South.
Tags: biotechnology, gene patenting, genetic diagnostic test, personalized medicine
Posted in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, business, genetic modification, intellectual property | No Comments »
Information Technology Helps Egypt Economy
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
In the first quarter of 2010, Egypt saw a growth of 11.3 percent in its Information & Communication Technology (ICT) sector. This sectoral growth helped Egypt achieve an overall 5.8 percent economic growth during the quarter, the fastest growth in almost two years. The economy is expected to grow by 5.3 percent for the fiscal year ending June this year, compared to 4.7 percent the previous fiscal year.
The country is a major Middle East destination for outsourced IT work, and companies like Sykes Enterprises and Stream Global Services have invested in a major way in Egypt. The country’s IT industry development agency, Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Intel Corporation to use Intel’s technical expertise to develop products and technical solutions.
According to the CEO of ITIDA, the year 2010 had started with significant investments from new companies and with local companies developing and expanding their capabilities and services. He felt confident that more multinational companies will invest in and outsource operations to Egypt.
The country invests in infrastructure, intellectual property protection and piracy prevention, all major concerns in the IT sector. Egypt’s piracy rate remained unchanged while globally it was increasing. According the ITIDA CEO, the rate is lower than in some other outsourcing destinations.
Read the report at Zawya.com.
Tags: Egyptian economy, information technology, outsourcing
Posted in business, information technology, intellectual property, outsourcing | No Comments »
Biotechnology for World Health
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
Pharmaceutical companies, like other businesses, are interested in returns for their shareholders and focus on profitable drugs and medicines. The improving health conditions in developed countries have made the profitability of many vaccines, for example, unattractive to these companies. Manufacture of these products for use in developing countries is just not profitable enough for the pharma companies.
Developing countries need effective drugs and vaccines at low costs, often for diseases that are unique to their particular regions. Affordable and rapid molecular diagnostic tests, recombinant and heat stable vaccines for tropical and other neglected diseases, new drug and vaccine delivery systems as well as a wider application of genomics are what biotechnology can offer to these countries.
As manufacturers in developed countries withdraw from the scene, it is public health intervention programs that try to fill the gap. However, a huge knowledge gap exists and developing countries by themselves may not be able to make a significant impact. Some hopeful signs are there in such countries as China, India and Brazil where biotechnology capacity and sophistication are increasing.
Hopes of achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through public interventions alone are dim. Biotechnology has a key role in achieving the goal of affordable healthcare. Local initiatives can help as when Cuba developed its own vaccine in response to an outbreak of meningitis B during the 1980s. The vaccine has been successful not only in curbing the epidemic but also in sustaining its impact till now.
For a real solution, however, closer collaboration between developed and developing countries, with adequate protection for intellectual property rights, is necessary. Read the report on this topic at Geneva Health Forum online news.
Tags: affordable drugs and vaccines, biotechnology, pharmaceutical business, world health goals
Posted in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, business, intellectual property, sustainable development | No Comments »
Generics and Branded Drugs: Are they the same?
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
New drugs require years of research and clinical trials to prove their efficacy, and compliance with a lot of formalities before they are approved for the market. Pharmaceutical companies cite these as reasons for prolonged patent and other kinds of brand protection.
Branded products are priced high and the ordinary consumer often finds them unaffordable. This is particularly true in developing countries where the income levels of most people are low.
Generics are drugs without a brand name that are made using the research and trial findings used for the branded version. Even generic drugs have to conform to the same safety standards as branded drugs.
Generic drugs are cheaper because the companies making them did not incur the heavy development and promotional expenses of the original brand name drug. Additionally, because several companies are making the generic version, competition drives down the price.
While the above is the scenario at the introduction of innovative new drugs, pharmaceutical companies have been accused of making minor changes to an existing, proven drug and claiming brand name protection for the modified version. In this case, they would not have incurred any heavy research and development expenses and the claim for continued protection is not justified.
Brand name protection prolongs the period of lifesaving drugs becoming available at affordable prices. As a result, there is a strong movement for restricting protection to as low a period as possible.
Read about generic drugs at the FDA Website.
Tags: branded drug, drug efficacy, generic drug, patent protection, r&d costs
Posted in biopharmaceutical, business, intellectual property, patenting | No Comments »
Technology to Business Showcase
Monday, March 8th, 2010
There are inventors and technology-commercialization experts with patents for market-ready innovative technologies and then there are investors seeking high margin business opportunities. A venue where the two groups can meet and negotiate deals for licensing or outright purchase can benefit not only the participants but also industy in general. The WBT showcase 2010 presented by Lockheed Martin is one such.
The technologies might originate from government, academia or private entrepreneurs. WBT claims that all the technologies are vetted for market readiness. The three-day forum during March 15-17 at the Sheraton Arlington Hotel and the Arlington Convention Center will help major investors and licensing scouts to meet the inventors.
The technology fields covered include materials science, information technology, energy, life science and nanotechnology. The presenters say that over 100 vetted and mentored seed stage investment and licensing deals will be available. There will be pre-event commercialization workshop by the Licensing Executives Society.
There will also be a presentation by members of SIGMA, the Science Fiction Think Tank.
WBT Showcase
Tags: innovative technologies, investor meet, licensing patented technology, technology commercialization
Posted in business, intellectual property, technology commercialization | No Comments »
Patenting People out of the Benefits of Research
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Scientific progress in different fields promise so much. For example, genetic research in biotechnology promises the ability to foresee disease-proneness of individuals. These developments typically make us view a future where we can take precautions against every kind of disease.
What happens if some business goes out and patents the technology so that you have to pay them huge sums to derive the benefits of the progress? What if this patenting can be for discoveries made by government-funded programs and then transferred to private agencies? Should private agencies be allowed to derive the benefits while denying the tax-paying public the benefits of these tax-funded programs?
Of course, industry spokesmen will have numerous arguments to support any dilution of their ability to get patents on everything. They might point to the jobs created owing to new business inititatives and to “beneficial” public-private partnership and much more. However, considering the big stake that industries have in the issue, one cannot expect them to be all that open in the discussions.
A relevant issue is that businesses have huge funds at their disposal for lobbying and for opinion-making campaigns. Public interest defenders, on the other hand, might not be funded so generously. In such a context, it is heartening to see the active efforts of agencies like ip-watch who states their mission as: “Intellectual Property Watch, a non-profit independent news service, reports on the interests and behind-the-scenes dynamics that influence the design and implementation of international intellectual property policies.”
Read a recent news item from them at: ip-watch news.
Tags: benefits of scientific research, industry lobbying, intellectual property, patenting
Posted in business, intellectual property | 2 Comments »
