Walter G. Copan

Walter G. Copan

Gov’t. meddling may kill scientific research

Spread the love

By Walter G. Copan

Bureaucrats are debating whether to take away patent rights on Xtandi, a prostate cancer drug, from its manufacturer. Activists have complained that the medicine’s price is too high. They argue that because the molecule behind the drug originated in a research lab that received federal funding, the government has the power under the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 to “march in” and relicense the patent to other drug companies that could create cheaper versions.

That’s not only a misreading of the law — it’s a disastrous idea that could effectively destroy the legal foundation for the public-private research partnerships that bring new products to American consumers.

WalterCopan

Walter G. Copan

The Bayh-Dole Act allows universities, research institutes and small businesses to invent, to own and license patents from their research — specifically from research supported by federal funding. Prior to Bayh Dole, the federal government held those patent rights — and bureaucrats rarely licensed any patents to companies capable of turning good inventions into tangible products.

Public-private partnerships nurtured by Bayh-Dole have led to the formation of over 15,000 startup companies and contributed almost $2 trillion to the U.S. economy. Researchers estimate that the law’s technology transfer provision supports nearly 6 million American jobs.

The law requires any company that licenses these patents to make a good-faith effort to develop them and produce real-world products. If a company licenses a patent, but then just sits on it — rather than investing what’s necessary to bring it to market — the government can “march in” and relicense the patent to a firm that’s willing to do that hard, expensive work.

But activists are now calling on the government to use those march-in rights as a de facto price control, and march in simply because they believe a product costs too much.

However, Bayh-Dole’s march-in power was never intended to be used to micromanage prices from Washington.

Many university inventions come to market through startups, involving significant personal and financial risk. However, if their property rights are not secure, entrepreneurs will eventually fail. If a firm is finally successful and then the government can just strip away their rights over a price dispute, few firms thereafter would ever take the risk of licensing university research that involved even a dime of federal funding.

This isn’t theoretical. In the late 1980s, the National Institutes of Health imposed a so-called “reasonable price clause” for all public-private collaboration agreements. As soon as the rule went into force, the bottom fell out of these partnerships.

The effects of the rule were so disastrous that NIH Director Harold Varmus scrapped the policy in 1995, saying that it had “driven industry away from potentially beneficial scientific collaborations.” The year after this “government price control” provision was repealed, the number of public-private cooperative agreements more than doubled.

We shouldn’t repeat the same mistake, especially on the heels of a pandemic that demonstrated the crucial role that technology transfer plays in developing vaccines and therapeutics as fast as humanly possible. If the Biden administration fails to protect the Bayh-Dole Act, it could spell disaster for American consumers and workers alike.

Walter G. Copan, PhD, is the former director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He currently serves as vice president for research and technology transfer at Colorado School of Mines as well as Senior Advisor & Co-Founder at the Renewing American Innovation Project at CSIS. This piece originally ran in the Denver Post.

Local News

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Neighbors

countryside logo

Countryside City Council tackles long list of items

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Water leaks, a new truck and abandoned vehicles were among a laundry list of items tackled by the Countryside City Council at its latest meeting. They were all from the infrastructure committee chaired by Ald. Mark Benson (3rd). All of the following were approved by a unanimous 6-0 vote on…

Mahdi Ali (from left), Team AlBary, Ghina Albary, Abla Daoud, Minna Sulieman, Iman Ezzhory, Medinah Yusef,  and Argo Teacher Nadia Elkhatib. (Supplied photos)

Argo High School holds Iftar Dinner for community

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan More than 100 people gathered at Argo Community High School last week for a now annual Ramadan Iftar dinner organized by Argo teacher Nadia Elkhatib. Elkhatib was happy with the turnout for those coming Thursday night to break bread with the school’s Muslim students and their families. “I will continue…

regional palos heights logo

Pool improvements advance in Palos Heights

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Heights aldermen last week approved contracts advancing improvements at the municipal pool. Alderman Jefry Key motioned for approval of a letter of agreement with the American Institute of Architects between Williams Architect and the City of Palos Heights for the pool improvement project. Since first proposing pool improvements in…

Palos Hills young people sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. (Photo by Nuha Abdessalam)

Teens enjoy Green Hills karaoke party

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Hills tweens and teens sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. Green Hills Library invited all tweens and teens for a karaoke night at Strange Brew Cafe on West 103rd Street and 87th Street on Feb. 22. Organized by Green Hill Library Youth Program…

Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, 12778 S. Harlem Ave., Palos Heights. (Photos by Kelly White)

Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant opens in Palos Heights

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White When choosing a location for his second business location, Luis Garcia knew he wanted it to be Palos Heights. “I absolutely love it here,” Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, said. “It’s a great area, nice clientele and I’m happy…

The corner of Crandall and Depot in Worth will be the future site of the Garden Center Services apartment complex. (Photo by Joe Boyle)

Worth Polar Plunge raises record amount

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle The FOP Worth Polar Plunge has been deemed a major success and local officials said the amount raised has set a new record. The annual event, sponsored by the Worth Police Department, took place in a large swimming pool that was put up in the parking lot of the Marrs-Meyer…

Kris Sumner, Youth Programming Librarian at Green Hills Public Library, is responsible for organizing the Eid Clothing Bazaar at the library, 10331 Interlochen Dr., Palos Hills. (Supplied photos)

Green Hills Public Library hosts Eid Clothing Drive

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Islamic calendar has two major holidays each year: Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and celebrates an entire month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice that occurs during the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage season. It takes place two lunar months after Ramadan.…

big PoliceLights1

Police Blotter

Spread the love

Spread the loveCHICAGO RIDGE DUI Orlando De La Rosa, 32, of Berwyn, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop at 2:29 a.m. March 8 in the 9200 block of South Harlem Avenue. Police said he failed field sobriety tests and refused to submit a breath sample. He was also…

Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer rides in the Fourth of July parade in 2022. (File photo)

Oak Lawn seeks participants for Fourth of July parade

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle It may be spring, but it is not too early to talk about a summer parade. The Oak Lawn Village Board approved a resolution Tuesday morning authorizing the submission of a permit request to the Illinois Department of Transportation for the 2024 Fourth of July Parade. The resolution approves the…

Veronica Shaw

Sandburg welcomes new associate principal of instruction

Spread the love

Spread the loveConsolidated High School District 230 Board of Education is welcoming Dr. Veronica Shaw to Carl Sandburg High School as its new Associate Principal of Instruction. She begins July 1 and replaces Anita Huffman who was recently appointed as District 230’s Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services. With ample education leadership experience, Shaw is currently…