Data Sharing Aids the Fight Against Malaria 42
ananyo writes "Two years ago, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it would release details of about 13,500 molecules that had already been shown to inhibit the malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum parasite to some degree. The molecular structures were published in May 2010, along with similar data from Novartis, based in Basel, Switzerland, and the St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Researchers were encouraged to test the combined library of more than 20,000 compounds to pinpoint potential drugs, and then find out how they work so that the molecules could be tweaked to enhance their activity. Such 'open innovation' efforts have since been launched, including an effort unveiled last month which will see 11 companies sharing their intellectual property. But are such efforts working? The answer, judging by the GSK effort, seems to be a cautious 'yes.'"
Intellectual Property (Score:4, Interesting)
I, as the sole owner of 3 patents, as well as share ownership of several more patents, have no problem with the concept of IP
However, I do have problem with the way IP has been used to hinder the progress of the innovation and the restriction of information flow, which damages the society as a whole