DNA patents versus the public interest:
The "mozzie" shows the way forward
In the second of this two part series, Dr Ames Dhai tackles the highly topical
subject of patenting in biotechnology. In part one, she addressed the threats
posed by patenting DNA. This month she shows how research on malaria can show
the way forward.
Prof. Ames Dhai
Scientific and economic progress may be retarded by the current situation
regarding DNA patenting and hence, public interest is being undermined. This
will obviously have significant implications for the health of developing
countries. The contribution of the global research community to the creation and
application of medical technologies for these countries is weakened.
Two eminent bodies have published reports recently undermining the assertion
that patents on genes are good for innovation. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics
published its report "The Ethics of Patenting DNA" in July 2002, and
in September 2002, the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) set up
by the British Government's Department for International Development, published
its report, "Integrating Intellectual Property Rights and Development
Policy".
The Nuffield Council recommended that gene patents extending to gene therapy
should seldom be awarded. Where an abnormal gene is associated with a disease
the process of inserting a normal gene, or correcting or replacing a faulty one
is obvious. They recommend that patents covering the difficult problems of
getting gene therapy to work are of greater value. They suggest that protection
should be concentrated on developing safe and effective methods of appropriate
gene delivery.
Patenting and the developing world
The CIPR in its report concluded that an expansion of intellectual property
rights was unlikely to result in significant benefits for most developing
countries. Should developing countries be coerced into to accepting developed
world practices in patenting the likelihood of higher priced medicines and seeds
would be the outcome. Consequently, poverty reduction and alleviation would be
even more difficult to achieve. Developing world countries are already suffering
to an even greater extent from the pressures to allow patents on medicines,
plants and seeds. Developed world interests with regards to patents, interferes
with and the ability of developing countries to build their own industries, and
feed and treat their people. Hence, the developing world is prevented from being
empowered towards self-sustainability.
The CIPR recommends that the World Trade Organisation's TRIPS agreement make
provision to allow countries to exclude genes, plants and seeds from
patentability, for developing countries to pass compulsory licensing laws, which
ensure that affordable drugs can be made locally, and to use differential
pricing when necessary. The CIPR concluded that the intellectual property laws
of the developed world do not encourage research on the diseases resulting from
poverty which effect the developing countries.
There is growing support that for the fact that a better knowledge of the
genomics of pathogens and their vectors will play a major role in the prevention
and treatment of infectious disease. There is also evidence that when this
knowledge is freely shared, immediate opportunities are provided for combating
health care problems of the developing world and when this knowledge is
patented, considerable time and resources are utilized before even research into
these areas can be commenced. The studies into the combating of malaria is an
appropriate example.
The Malaria debacle
The Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), part of the Programme for Appropriate
Technology (PATH), an international charitable organization dedicated to
improving health in developing countries, aims to develop vaccines for malaria.
Before PATH could invest in the development of a vaccine based on the MSP-1
protein, it was necessary to establish whether patents were granted or pending
on the specific protein and what the scopes of these patents could be. PATH had
to outlay considerable resources to negotiate with individual owners to obtain
the necessary agreements before proceeding with research. There was also a
substantial delay before any work could commence on this important public health
research.
On the other hand, the Malaria Genome Project has analysed the sequence data
of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and has released
information freely into public databases as it is produced.
Through computational analysis of this data it was discovered by researchers
that the parasite utilized an enzymatic pathway absent in humans. They also
discovered that a drug developed, but never marketed for the treatment of
recurrent urinary tract infections in the 1970s targeted this very
pathway.
Immediate testing on mouse models of malaria found it to be a highly
effective antimalarial agent. Clinical trials are presently well under way
testing the efficacy of this drug against malaria. It is remarkable to note that
the trajectory between laboratory investigations and initial clinical trials in
this case has been less than two years, due to in the main, fundamental genomic
knowledge being freely available in the public domain.
Disease gene patents have generated a new phenomenon in clinical laboratory
medicine, research and therapy: that of monopolization of services, which is
diametrically in conflict with the principles espoused by good medical practice.
This is something that poor countries cannot afford.
The practice of medicine should not be limited in any way. Public interest,
especially where developing world countries are concerned should be prioritized.
Rigorous application of the basic tests for patentability is requisite and the
issue of whether the human genome is the common heritage of mankind and hence
not patentable needs to be resolved.
More information:
Prof Ames Dhai is the Head, Bioethics, Medical Law and Research Ethics at the
University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
dhai@webmail.co.za
Related articles:
The threats posed by patenting DNA
Relevant web-sites:
The Malaria Vaccine Initiative
Malaria Genome
Project
Public understanding of Biotechnology website www.pub.ac.za
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