Where do you get the money for research and testing? We have a system designed
to cost a fortune to get a drug approved. I agree that drugs developed with
public money should be freely distributed. But that's not the way things work
any more. There is still some plant breeding done that way but that is about the
only thing the universities don't patent.
Gordon
Gordon Couger
Stillwater OK
In article <3B0713A6.37650D42 at mail.ncifcrf.gov>, Dr. Artem Evdokimov says...
>>At that time, the British (rightfully) considered that patenting
>discoveries directly related to medicine is unethical. I wish this point
>of view was more widespread ...
>>A.
>>Frank Martin wrote:
>>>> EXACTLY! The Merck company in the USA pioneered the submerged-fermentation
>> process based on the new strain so making penicillin a practical drug.
>> It's all in the Florey biography. Inventors and developers seem to be
>> different species. That uppity little Scot didn't follow up his discovery,
>> and it was pure chance that Florey took the development up as a research
>> project. The WWII forced the English to seek American help for large scale
>> development.
>>>> "Gordon Couger" <gcouger at REMOVE.provalue.net> wrote in message
>> news:AEqN6.437$9x.14773 at www.newsranger.com...>> | In article <3B053C9D.674736A3 at hate.spam.net>, Uncle Al says...
>> | >
>> | >"R. I. Mateles" wrote:
>> | >>
>> | >> Penicillin: A Paradigm for Biotechnology
>> | >> Richard I. Mateles, Editor
>> | >[snip]
>> | >
>> | >The first large scale production of penicillin was done in a
>> | >remarkably large number of British bedpans. When they finally went to
>> | >submerged culture in vats the quintessential breakthrough in
>> | >controlled addition of phenylacetic acid to make penicllin-G without
>> | >killing the mold was made by a janitor tired of smelling cat piss
>> | >(phenylacetic acid) everywhere.
>> | >
>> | >
>> | That janitor worked for the USDA if I remember right. The Brits couldn't
>> get
>> | very much production and brought it over to the USDA for help. If I
>> remember the
>> | story right the biggest single improvement was getting a new strain from
>> a
>> | cantaloupe in the trash.
>> |
>> | Gordon
>> |
>> | Gordon Couger
>> | Stillwater OK
>>--
>|Dr. Artem Evdokimov Protein Engineering |
>| NCI-Frederick Tel. (301)846-5401 |
>| FAX (301)846-7148 |
>|eudokima at mail.ncifcrf.gov |
>|http://www.ncifcrf.gov/plague |