Roche claims victory in bid for European Taq patent
Article Abstract:
The Swiss pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-la Roche has obtained the patent rights to the specific thermostable enzyme Taq DNA polymerase from the bacterium Thermus aquaticus. The European Patent Office granted the rights after the company proved that David Gelfland and other scientists' work was more advanced than that of previous researchers. The decision grants the company the rights to thermostable enzymes with molecular weights ranging from 86,000 to 90,000 daltons. A US rival company Promega is being sued by Roche for selling Taq polymerase sans the license.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
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Aid groups back challenge to neem patents
Article Abstract:
The issuing of patents for the process of extracting an insecticide from the neem tree to the multinational company W.R. Grace has been opposed by an international coalition of aid and environmentalist groups. According to these groups the patent laws allow multinationals to patent methods using indigenous knowledge based on scientific techniques. The Indian farmers also fear that the purchase of neem seeds by the multinationals will create a scarcity of the seeds in India. According to Grace, the company only wants patents for their technique.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1995
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Roche fails to get European patent on Taq polymerase
Article Abstract:
The European Patent Office rejected Hoffmann-La Roche's application for patenting the naturally occurring version of enzyme Taq polymerase, citing a similar invention at the University of Cincinnati in 1976. However, Roche claims that its enzyme has substantially different molecular weight than the one produced at Cincinnati, and is more efficient at duplicating DNA sequences by polymerase chain reaction process. The rejection could lower the price of Taq enzyme in Europe as licensing fees would become redundant.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
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