Elizabeth Blackburn and the Story of Telomeres: Deciphering the Ends of DNA

by Catherine Brady

The energetic and well-funded participation of biotech companies in cutting-edge biological research can prove dangerous, because unexpected and novel findings that present a commercial liability are exactly the findings that drive pure science. Furthermore, a company’s (natural) interest in profit requires proprietary rights over research, which runs counter to the open exchange of ideas necessary to science. Eager to share in any windfall, universities commonly enter into licensing agreements, or “sponsored projects,” with corporations when research seems close to generating a profitable product. Such sponsored projects often entail a material transfer agreement that preserves a company’s commercial prerogative over any results—and potentially any future discoveries that in any way rely on the patented material. Proprietary rights are dangerously murky in molecular biology, which produces not new inventions but intellectual property, such as gene sequences, with significant medical and social consequences. When such research tools are patented, a company might waive the cost of access for academic scientists, but its commercial interest in any resulting product impedes ready access and can curtail further exploration.