New anticoagulant prompts bad blood between partners
Friedly, J.
Science 271(5257): 1800-1801
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 8596945 Document Number: 464771
University and biotech workers have clashed over a protein isolated from hookworms. In 1993, scientists from Yale University and a small San Diego-based biotechnology firm, Corvas International, united to develop products related to hookworms: The Yale group wanted to formulate a vaccine to protect the estimated 1 billion people infected by the bloodsucking intestinal parasite, whereas the Corvas researchers were aiming to isolate a hookworm protein that could compete in the profitable anticoagulant drug market. Although the March 5 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences contains a report on the amino acid sequences of hookworm anticoagulant proteins, the partners have split, and one molecule may become the subject of a unpleasant custody battle. The background to the research and the confrontation is presented.