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New York (pte054/05.05.2003/16:38) - The international race to identify the SARS virus has turned into a battle over the patent rights to the disease.
The Canadian scientists who decoded the genetic makeup of the virus have submitted an application for a patent in the USA, demanding the rights to SARS genes, as reported in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) http://www.wsj.com . The Hong Kong team that first examined the disease under a microscope is also interested in the rights to SARS, along with the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The applications have been broadly formulated so the recipient of the patent can also try to secure the rights to diagnosis tests, medicines and possible vaccinations against SARS.
The German Bernhard Nocht Institute has, however, declined to join in the fight over the rights to SARS. The virology laboratory's scientific coordinator Barbara Ebert called the identification of SARS a discovery, not an invention.
Meanwhile, the University of Hong Kong has established agreements with commercial investors for diagnostic tests and other products. Several US companies have been trying to get a foothold on the small, but volatile SARS market, with some genetic diagnostic tests already available. Big players like Abbott Laboratories and Roche intend to design their own tests. Merck and Aventis are examining the possibility of using the genes of the coronavirus to develop a vaccine.
The market for tests and treatment could grow rapidly if the disease is not brought under control or resurfaces each year, but it could also disappear completely if the illness has little impact after this epidemic. (newsfox-special SARS)
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