-Caveat Lector-
(As if this would stop "private enterprise" or government/military R&D
...)
Blair and Clinton push to stop gene patents
By David Hencke, Rob Evans and Tim Radford
Guardian (London) / Monday / September 20, 1999
Tony Blair and Bill Clinton are negotiating an Anglo-American agreement to
protect the 100,000 genes that control the human body and provide the
catalysts for medical advance.
The extraordinary deal -- initiated by Mr Blair -- aims to prevent
entrepreneurs profiting from gene patents and to ensure that the benefits of
research are freely available worldwide to combat or even eliminate diseases.
The two leaders decided to act after an acceleration in the pace of
discovery of the make-up of the human body. In 1997, 8,000 genes had been
mapped; by 2003, the body's entire 100,000 genes will have been mapped.
The deal aims to ensure that world's largest medical charity, the
British-owned Wellcome Trust, and the U.S. government owned National
Institute of Health, publicise genes within 24 hours of their discovery -- so
that the benefits accrue entirely to the public. Research bodies,
universities or laboratories, would be obliged to waive their rights to
patent their work in the public interest.
To get the deal Mr Blair, through his science envoy, Lord Sainsbury, pressed
the U.S. government to scrap an agreement with an American entrepreneur
scientist, Craig Venter, who set up his own company, Celera, in Maryland, to
patent as many human genes as possible.
As revealed in the Guardian last year, Dr Venter believed that he had
developed a method to map the whole gene make-up before the international
venture could do so -- thus enabling him to patent the information. To
protect his investment he tried to get a deal with the U.S. department of
energy, which the Wellcome Trust warned would inhibit development of drugs
since companies would have to buy a licence to use a Venter gene.
Documents released to the Guardian under the U.S. freedom of information law
show there have been discussions between Lord Sainsbury and Neal Lane, Bill
Clinton's science and technology adviser, to turn what is known as the
Bermuda accord -- an informal agreement to release all research on human
genes without claiming patents
-- into a full inter-governmental agreement. The two talked in Kyoto in
Japan and Williamsburg in the U.S. during the Carnegie group summits of G8
science ministers.
One e-mail by Mr Lane to a colleague in Washington last December says: "Tony
Blair might approach the potus [Bill Clinton] about having a written
agreement on cooperation re the human genome project. Lord Sainsbury is
handling this matter for the PM. Harold Varmus [director of the U.S. national
institute of health] feels an agreement is not really needed but has no
objection to having one if it is felt to be important."
Another e-mail discloses talks this year with Ari Patrinos, head of the human
genome project at the U.S. department of energy, on how to draw up the
Anglo-American agreement.
The e-mail discloses that, before the talks, the department of energy
withdrew its agreement with Celera and put up proposals to incorporate the
company in a joint U.S.-UK agreement. Officials are worried it may not
agree, but the e-mail ends: "Bottom line is that, although [the energy
department] did have an earlier agreement with Celera, they have since
withdrawn it and are working with [the U.S. health institute] and the
Wellcome Trust as a group on any future industry agreements."
The department of trade and industry said yesterday: "The U.S. has proposed
an inter-government agreement on the human genome project. We are currently
negotiating." The Wellcome Trust said it was keen on a deal that would
develop the Bermuda accord.
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