The peacock's tail

On a blog called BioLaw, what could be more appropriate than an image of the peacock and his tail in its full splendor?

Hat tip to Beyond the Fringe.

Sharing With CIRM Makes Biotech Squirm

The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine ("CIRM"), the now famous institute devoted to promoting embryonic stem cell ("ESC") research, proposed regulations earlier this year that seek to govern how patents, and the revenues they protect, are to be shared between CIRM and the organizations that receive its grants. These regulations have gathered considerable controversy from both potential grantees and the public, some regulations for being unclear, and others for being too restrictive.

In addition to detailed reporting requirements covering all patents and patent applications relating to CIRM-funded inventions, 17 Cal. Code of Regs. §100402 ("Invention Reporting Requirements") obliges grantees to track related revenue:

In the event of revenue streams created as a consequence of CIRM-funded patented inventions (whether from license agreements or self-commercialization activities), awardee organizations shall keep accurate records and accounts, and submit to CIRM a statement describing financial information relating to the CIRM-funded invention-related revenue stream for the preceding 12 month period.

What "CIRM-funded invention-related revenue stream" lacks in poetic elegance, it more than compensates for in interpretive ambiguity. Some worry that this regulation, as currently crafted, creates perverse incentives for grantees to redefine their inventions to minimize any relationship to CIRM grants.

In addition, §100406 ("Licensing CIRM-Funded Patented Inventions") creates strong incentives for grantees to avoid negotiating exclusive licenses:

(c) In exclusive license agreements, awardee organizations shall include terms for commercial development plans to bring the invention to practical application. Such provisions shall include commercial development milestones and benchmarks so that development can be assessed and monitored.

(d) Awardee organizations shall grant exclusive licenses involving CIRM-funded patented inventions relevant to therapies only to organizations with plans to provide access at the time of commercialization to resultant therapies for uninsured California patients. In addition, such licensees will agree to provide to patients whose therapies will be purchased in California by public funds the therapies at a discount price. The CIRM may make access plans available for review by the ICOC.

(e) Awardee organizations shall monitor the performance of exclusive licensees of CIRM-funded patented inventions to ensure that the licensed invention is developed in a timely fashion. Remedies for failure to develop may include modification or termination of a license in the event that a licensee is unable to fully develop the rights granted.

(f) Awardee organizations shall negotiate relevant and specific grounds for modification or termination of the license. Examples would include failure to meet agreed-upon commercialization benchmarks, and failure to reasonably meet the agreed-upon plan for access to resultant therapies as described above in subdivision (d).

(g) Awardee organizations shall monitor the commercial development activities of the licensees to determine compliance with the terms of the license agreement and include reports of monitoring activities annually.

(h) Awardee organizations shall take administrative action to modify or terminate license rights where necessary and report such action to the CIRM Scientific Program Officer.

Given the importance licensees in the biotechnology realm often place on exclusivity of patent rights, these rules may prove prohibitive. This may be especially so for smaller start-ups, which happen to constitute a large share of those companies engaged in ESC science.

In the meantime, other states, such as biotechnology powerhouse, Massachusetts, are actively considering establishing their own large pools of ESC funding. If these states choose less burdensome regulations on patents, California may find itself a victim in a race to the bottom of the petri dish.

Mes cours de bio

Mon dieu, quel vidéo!

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Pendant mes cours d' SVT en terminale il y avait une fille assise à mes côtés comme elle était femelle et que j'étais un mâle, j'ai décidé d'en faire ma fiancée. Mais n'ayant rien suivi de mes cours de bio Pour me faire remarquer j'ai fait l'idiot: Je me suis penché vers elle et j'ai déclaré les mots suivants, un peu comme ils venaient: Oh,tel un coccolitophoridé coincé entre le tertiaire et le crétacé les systoles de mon coeur affolé m'ont fait comprendre que tu es ma dulcinée. Elle m'a regardé d'un air ébahi, j'ai eu peur d'avoir dit une connerie. Puis son visage d'un sourire éclatant, me dévoila toutes ses belles dents. Et quand l' prof aborda l'immunologie, c'est sur un ton d'antigène, qu'elle me répondit: Si toi tu es un coccolitophoridé coincé entre le tertiaire et le crétacé, moi je suis un trilobite décédé depuis au moins 200 millions d'années. De toute évidence elle suivait mieux que moi le peu de cours de bio auxquels j'étais là Mais pendant qu'la classe dessinait les anticorps je n'pouvais me résigner à oublier son corps, alors réunissant mes quelques feuilles de SVT je suis parvenu lui rétorquer: le polyallélisme d'un gène s'exprime par la diversité phénotypique des individus, ces quelques mots,je les déclâme pour te dire que tu as les plus beaux yeux qu'j'ai jamais vu Me regardant, elle a rigolé, et m'a répondu sur un p'tit bout d'papier: le polyallélisme d'un gène s'exprime par la diversité phénotypique des individus, ces quelques mots, je sais qu'tu les imprimes et je compte bien de voir ce soir après le bahut. Et nous baladant sur l'échelle stratigraphique, faisant fi des temps géologiques nos hypothalamus en ébulition on a participé à l'évolution!

When I was in school, There was a girl who sat next to me Since she was female and I was male, I decided to make her my fiancée. But, having paid no attention to my biology class, To make myself seen, I played the idiot. I leaned towards her and declared The following words, a little bit as they came to me Oh, like a coccolithophorid Stuck between the Tertiary and Cretaceous The beating of my distraught heart Made me understand that you were my girl She looked at me, dumbfounded. I was afraid I had said something stupid Then her face with a dazzling smile Revealed to me all her beautiful teeth And when the teacher addressed immunology She responded to me, not at all shy: If you are a coccolithophorid Stuck between the Tertiary and the Cretaceous, then I am a trilobite dead For at least 200 million years Apparently, she followed better than I The few biology classes that I attended But while the class drew antibodies I couldn't resign myself to forgetting her body So putting together the few pieces of paper I had I succeeded in replying: Genetic polyallelism expresses itself Through the phenotypic diversity of individuals I ranted these few words to tell you that you have the most beautiful eyes that I have ever seen Looking at me, she laughed And responded to me on a little piece of paper Genetic polyallelism expresses itself Through the phenotypic diversity of individuals These few words, I know, will impress you And I expect to see you this evening after class And walking on the stratigraphic scale Flouting geological time Our hypothalamus boiling We participated in evolution!