Protesters said the bill contains language that gives additional protection to US drug patents and would prop up the price of disease-fighting drugs on a continent where 70 percent of the world's new AIDS cases are reported. There are other health related issues affected by the use of patents to support high profits. The burgeoning biotechnology industry is trying to protect investments that anticipated huge profits by taking advantage of patent law. Attempts are being made to patent whole genetic sequences. In one example, the Meningitis Research Foundation warned that Human Genome Sciences, which has applied for the patent on the sequence for bacterial meningitis, could use their patent to demand royalties for any vaccine developed by the foundation.
Recent history shows many examples of the use of patent law to protect drug companies' profits.
DdI, the AIDS drug, was also priced far above Bristol-Myers Squibb costs. The life saving drug was invented by the US government but was exclusively licensed to Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mergers between pharmaceutical companies have also created giant monopolies on health-related products that the merged partners once competed to produce. US domestic drug pricing has also received a boost from the Clinton administration. It is estimated that the federal government funds fully 38 percent of US healthcare research while 10 percent is funded by other government agencies and nonprofits.