Biotechnology Patent Protection Act of 1993 : report (to accompany S. 298).

  • United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Date:
[1993]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Biotechnology Patent Protection Act of 1993 : report (to accompany S. 298). Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ated remedies for patented “host cells” and other essential intermediates and is now title II of S. 298. Title I of S. 298 is identical to S. 654 except that it applies exclu- sively, rather than primarily, to biotechnological processes. ITI. DISCUSSION A. Background “Biotechnology” is a broad term coined to encompass manmade process which manipulate biological components. The Office of Technology Assessment defines biotechnology as “any technique that uses living organisms (or substances from those organisms) to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, or to de- velop microorganisms for specific uses.” 2 Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary science, combining biology, chemistry, material science, physics, computer science, and medi- cine. It is used in diverse industries from pharmaceuticals, agri- culture, and veterinary medicine to environmental cleanup and new energy resources. Widely known products made with the use of biotechnology include home pregnancy tests, diagnostic tests for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), insulin, sweeteners such as aspartame (the sweetener marketed as Nutrasweet), and the en- zyme used to turn glucose into highly sweet fructose. Man has used processes involving biological organisms for hun- dreds of centuries, and continues to use them in a vast array of areas today. Yeast, a fungus used for fermentation to produce alco- holic beverages and to leaven dough, is one example of an organism that has been processed since the dawn of history. The best beef and pork in the world are the result of selective crossbreeding, and more recently, of artificial insemination. Penicillin and other natu- rally occurring antibiotics are commercially produced with micro- organisms, and the 1992 Winter Olympic Games produced snow by using organisms that promote ice crystallization. Today’s biotechnology is far more complex than that of yester- year. In the 1950’s, Watson and Crick discovered the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) double helix, a complex molecule made of billions of single atoms which functions as a genetic template. The basis of much of the biotechnology industry today is the eluci- dation of relatively minute sections of DNA. Until the advent of the computer chip and advanced electronics, efforts to determine the makeup and function of these minute sections were essentially trial and error. Biotechnology has made it possible to create and test molecules with relative precision. The capability of creating these organic molecules has led to dramatic breakthroughs in the ability to improve human life. All living things are composed of cells, from one-celled bacteria to giant multicellular whales. Each cell contains a complete genetic “blueprint” of the organism encoded in a long molecule, DNA. DNA guides the construction and functions of the organism by directing cellular synthesis of proteins. 2U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, New Developments in Biotechnology: Own- ership of Human Tissues and Cells-Special Report,” OTA-BA-337 (Washington, DC: U.S. Gov- ernment Printing Office, March 1987).