Biopiracy

What is Biopiracy ?

Biopiracy is a negative term for the appropriation, generally by means of patents, of legal rights over indigenous knowledge - particularly indigenous biomedical knowledge - without compensation to the indigenous groups who originally developed such knowledge. A classic case is that of the Rosy Periwinkle (Madagascar Periwinkle). Research into the plant was prompted by the plant's traditional medicinal role and resulted in the discovery of a large number of biologically active chemicals, including vincristine, a lucrative agent useful during leukemia chemotherapy. A method for purifying vincristine was initially patented and marketed by Eli Lilly. It is widely reported that the country of origin did not receive any payment.
Biopiracy allegedly contributes to inequality between developing countries rich in biodiversity, and developed countries served by pharmaceutical industry exploiting those resources.
Bioprospecting is a more positive term more commonly used by supporters of commercialization of traditional medicines. While there is still no hard definition, media and academia use this less pejorative term when speaking about endeavors to capitalize on indigenous knowledge of natural resources. However, bioprospecting may also describe the search for previously unknown compounds in organisms that have never been used in traditional medicine.

Famous cases:

The Rosy Periwinkle:

The Rosy Periwinkle case dates from the 1950s. The Rosy Periwinkle, while native to Madagascar, had been widely introduced into other tropical countries around the world well before the discovery of vincristine. This meant that researchers could obtain local knowledge from one country and plant samples from another. The locally known medical properties of the plant were not the same as the medical properties discovered and commercially used by Eli Lilly. The use of the plant as a cure for diabetes was the original stimulus for research, but cures for cancer were the most important results. Different countries are reported as having acquired different beliefs about the medical properties of the plant. The Hodgkin's Lymphoma chemotherapeutic drug vinblastine is also derivable from the rosy periwinkle.

The Neem Tree:

A Neem treeIn 1995 the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a pharmaceutical research firm received a patent on a technique to extract an anti-fungal agent from the Neem tree (Azadirachta indica), which grows throughout India; Indian villagers have long understood the tree's medicinal value. Although the patent had been granted on an extraction technique, the Indian press described it as a patent on the Neem tree itself; the result was widespread public outcry, which was echoed throughout the developing world. Legal action by the Indian government followed, with the patent eventually being overturned (2005).
Importantly, the pharmaceutical company involved in the Neem case argued that as traditional Indian knowledge of the properties of the Neem tree had never been published in an academic journal, such knowledge did not amount to "prior art" (prior art is the term used when previously existing knowledge bars a patent).
In response to biopiracy threats such as this, India has been translating and publishing ancient manuscripts containing old remedies in electronic form. The texts are being recorded from Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian and Arabic; they will be made available to patent offices in English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish in 2006. The aim is to protect India's heritage from being exploited by foreign companies. Hundreds of Yoga poses are also kept in the collection. The project has been criticized by a spokesman for the pharmaceutical industry as "a solution in search of a problem".

The Enola Bean:

The Enola bean is a variety of Mexican yellow bean, so called after the wife of the man who patented it for the variety's distinct shade of yellow in 1999. The patent-holder subsequently sued a large number of importers of Mexican yellow beans with the following result: "...export sales immediately dropped over 90% among importers that had been selling these beans for years, causing economic damage to more than 22,000 farmers in northern Mexico who depended on sales of this bean." A law suit was filed on behalf of the farmers, and on April 14, 2005 the US-PTO ruled in favor of the farmers. An appeal was heard on 16 January 2008, and the patent was revoked in May 2008.

The Hoodia Cactus:

The Hoodia CactusThe Hoodia Cactus originates from the Kalahari Desert of South Africa. For generations it has been known to the traditionally-living San people as an appetite suppressant. In recent years (2004 onwards) there has been sensationalist media coverage of the cactus. Derived products may be introduced into developed countries as a cure for obesity. The long-term benefits are controversial.

Further cases:

The following is a selection of some of the more interesting cases in recent biopiracy studies.
A Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and Farmers' Rights interestingly lists and describes (arguably tendentiously) the cases of:

Turmeric (India)

Karela (India)

Quinoa (Bolivia)

Brazzein berries (Gabon)

Neem (India)

Basmati (India)