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Gene patenting and medical research: a view from a pharmaceutical company

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery volume 3, pages 364–368 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Recent reports on gene patenting claim that it has had a negative impact on medical research and have advocated changes in the law to address the negative effects the authors perceive to exist. These reports are based on anecdotal rather than objective evidence. In this article we seek to evaluate the impact of gene patenting objectively by examining, in overall terms, whether there has been a net cost or benefit to medical research from gene patenting.

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Figure 1: Patents filed and granted at the EPO from 1978 to 2001.

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Acknowledgements

With thanks to our colleagues, M. Lawrence, M. Rainey, D. Rosenberg and R. Thornley for their valuable counsel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Corporate Intellectual Property, GlaxoSmithKline plc, 980 Great West Road, Brentford, TW8 9GS, Middlesex, UK

    Mike Stott & Jill Valentine

Authors
  1. Mike Stott
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  2. Jill Valentine
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mike Stott.

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Competing interests

M.S. and J.V. work in the corporate intellectual property department of GlaxoSmithKline

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Stott, M., Valentine, J. Gene patenting and medical research: a view from a pharmaceutical company. Nat Rev Drug Discov 3, 364–368 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1348

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