From: Ad 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/world/asia/07birdflu.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&or
ef=slogin

" Indonesia, which has had more human cases of avian flu than any
other country, has stopped sending samples of the virus to the World Health
Organization, apparently because it is negotiating a contract to sell the
samples to an American vaccine company, a W.H.O. official said yesterday.

The strains of the H5N1 virus circulating in Indonesia are considered
crucial to developing up-to-date vaccines and following mutations in the
virus. The official, Dr. David L. Heymann, said the agency was “clearly
concerned” about the development and was in talks with Indonesia.

Dr. Heymann, the agency’s chief of communicable diseases, said he was not
blaming the company involved, Baxter Healthcare of Deerfield, Ill. “But now
that this has happened,” he said, “we have to sit down and figure out how
to rectify it.”"


" In addition, Indonesia’s decision upsets the pattern for making
seasonal flu vaccines — by choosing among hundreds of samples sent in
voluntarily from all over the world — and could set a dangerous example for
other countries. Indonesia and other poor countries feel slighted by the
system — justifiably so, some experts say — because the samples they send
in are used to produce vaccines that they often cannot afford.

“Their concern,” Dr. Heymann said, “is that their strains have been used by
several manufacturers to produce vaccines, and that Indonesia should get
some compensation. From their point of view, it’s understandable.”

A spokeswoman for Indonesia’s Health Ministry told Reuters yesterday that
the country “cannot share samples for free.”

“There should be rules of the game for it,” said the spokeswoman, Lily
Sulistyowati. “Just imagine, they could research, use and patent the
Indonesia strain.” "


Well there's yet another blow to the free transmission of scientific knowledge.

Let's all roll back to the pre-enlightenment days. If AQ doesn't drag us
there with it's beardy nutty view of religion then maybe the IP cartel will
with it's "monetize knowledge by restricting supply" model.

Adam

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5