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May 05, 2003

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Scientists' Hunt for SARS Cure Turns to Race for Patent Rights"

Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) (05/05/03); Regalado, Antonio

A number of groups are filing for patent rights to various aspects of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, trying to gain rights for tests, vaccines, and drugs that are being developed to stop the disease. Scientists and companies have been struggling for competitive positions since SARS became known to the world at large, though whether the market for treatments and tests will be lucrative depends on how the disease develops over time.  The Hong Kong scientists who first saw the virus through an electron microscope want a patent on the virus; the Canadian scientists who worked out SARS' genetic code want a patent on the genes; and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has filed for a patent on its discoveries.  World Health Organization head Klaus Stohr does not think that the race for patents will hinder SARS research, however.

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