HIV experts vs. sequencers in patent race
Marshall, E.
Science 275(5304): 1263
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 9064781 Document Number: 475683
Over the past year, at least five scientific teams working on the AIDS virus have focused on one molecule, the CCR5 receptor on immune system cells, and found that it acts like a key, opening the cell to HIV infection. Some observers predict that the CCR5 discovery will lead to new drugs designed to block HIV infections, so it is not surprising that a half dozen groups are vying for priority on CCR5 and many are filing patents. These competitors may be surprised to learn that a company not directly involved in HIV studies appears to hold the patent. Human Genome Sciences of Rockville, Maryland, applied for a patent on the DNA sequence coding for the CCR5 receptor in June 1995, says the company's chairman. This early claim highlights an issue that is likely to be increasingly annoying to DNA patent seekers: Since the early 1990s, firms doing large-scale DNA sequencing have been filing claims on thousands of genes and gene fragments, often with no knowledge of exactly what the DNA codes for.