Science
WSJ - Drug Patents
Drug Patent Violations, Knock Offs Harm Us All - WSJ, April 2007 Excerpt: Contrary to the assertions of the Thai government and Doctors Without Borders ("Thai Showdown Spotlights Threat to Drug Patents," April 24, page one), violating drug companies’ patents and making knock-offs of their drugs is not in the long-term best interest of patients. Just as letting people shoplift today can drive stores out of business tomorrow — and just as price controls make customers happy for a day but produce long-term shortages — so too do patent violations gut the incentive to invest millions in researching the even better drugs of tomorrow. Full Article
Washington Post | Steno ‘Superbug’ Genome Shows Extreme Drug Resistance
FRIDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) British research into Steno, one the most recent “superbugs” to claim lives, reveals that the bacterium has an incredible ability to resist antibiotics and other drugs, according to soon-to-be-published findings.
Steno, short forStenotrophomonas maltophilia, thrives in moist environments, such as around taps and shower heads, and can be transmitted to people. It is responsible for roughly 1,000 cases of Steno blood poisoning in the U.K. annually. About 30 percent of these infections prove fatal.
ABC | Platypus genome explored in nature journal
But its unique characteristics of the platypus have fascinated scientists since it was discovered and today the monotreme’s genome will be published for the first time in the journal Nature.
Chron.com | Human Genome Sciences shares fall as 1Q results disappoint
NEW YORK — Shares of biotechnology company Human Genome Sciences Inc. fell Tuesday after the company’s first-quarter results disappointed investors.
Shares fell 50 cents, or 7.5 percent, to $6.13. The stock has traded between $4.74 and $11.95 over the last 52 weeks.