Gene sequence fragment patents allowed under EU biotech patent directive.
Executive Summary
EUROPEAN BIOTECH PATENT DIRECTIVE WOULD ALLOW GENE FRAGMENT PATENTS if a genetic sequence fragment meets the general requirements of novelty, level of invention and industrial application. "An industrial application must be disclosed in the patent application," the directive instructs. "A mere sequence of DNA segments does not contain a technical teaching and is therefore not a patentable invention." The first reading of the "Directive on the Legal Protection of Biotechnological Inventions" was passed in the European Parliament July 16 by a vote of 388-110.
You may also be interested in...
Part D Discount Liability Coming Into Focus: CMS Releases Drug Cost Data
Newly released Medicare Part D data sheds light on the sales hit that branded pharmaceutical manufacturers will face when the coverage gap discount program gets under way in 2011
FDA Skin Infections Guidance Spurs Debate On Endpoint Relevance
FDA appears headed for a showdown with clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry over the proposed new clinical trial endpoints for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, the guidance's approach for justifying a non-inferiority margin and proposed changes in the types of patients that should be enrolled in trials
Shire Hopes To Sow Future Deals With $50M Venture Fund
Specialty drug maker Shire has quietly begun scouting deals with a brand-new $50 million venture fund, the latest of several in-house investment arms to launch with their parent company's pipelines, not profits, as the measure of their worth