Medical innovation, patent protection

Patenting DNA sequences came under heavy legal and public scrutiny in 1992, when the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) filed a patent application on partial human cDNA sequences of unknown function. This patent was rejected, and the consensus has emerged that patent protection should only be considered for nucleotide sequences that can be used for specific purposes, e.g. for a sequence which can serve as a diagnostic marker or codes for a protein product of medical value. This appears to be a reasonable approach, as it balances issues of public interest with encouraging innovation in the area. 

Initial reluctance and resistance by industry to reduce the prices of AIDS medications for poor countries/patients, let aside patent protection to increase supplies, or reduce prices in national emergencies like the Anthrax scare in the United States (Bayer Ciprofloxacin), SARS, and Avian Influenza (Roche Tamiflu) has eroded the image of the research-based innovative pharmaceutical industry. 

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