The Daily Alaska empire., 1937-09-28
Medical Patents
(NeW York Times)

tNeW IOrK llmeS)
 Is it right for a physician to patent an appliance for the treatment of disease drug that will it? The question up at Rochester before the American Chemical Society. Though nothing was developed it recognized by Dr. Morris Fish bein, who champions medical righteousness the American Medical Association it. that the patentee of vitamin is not necessarily devil and that charge of commercial exploitation can be fairly brought against any of the twelve founda- tions which have efficiently and honoraby ducted pharmaceutical research with the aid of roy alties The against patenting foods and drugs thus fails far the financial aspects concerned Dr. Fshbein even admitted that patents have their benefits in that they make possible to control the quality of a medicine a piece of apparatus. So we left with vague objection that researcher should not distracted by any influence except holy desire to advance the of medical science though he starve the pittance that holiness usually earns
 Why the medicos should question the ethics of lpatenting when they accept other way of making money has not been explained Copyrights on books, for example. No has yet suggested that it is immoral to make thousands in royalties from the sale of copyrighted textbook surgery or insisted that writing for markets diverts the attention from a truistic research To be absolutely consistent, the American Medical Association which has declared it to be unprofessona for physician ito receive remun- eration from patents for surgical instruments med cines ought to set an example Of the highest ethical conduct by refrainng from copyrightng its various publications. Indeed, consistency in ethics would de-
 
 patient on the ground that it is repugnant to good morals to relieve human suffering at price. But since physicians would then have to be supported by the taxpayer with all that is implied in the way of State medicine, not likely to hear the algu- ment advanced by medical organizations.
 For Dr. Fishbein, it must be said that he forward with the constructive suggestion that all food and drug patents granted to physicians and uni versity workers be turned to nonprofit- making corporation which would be controlled for the public good by the American Medical Association Unver- sites may have their legal difficulties in administer ing and protecting patents but there is evidence that virtually monopoistc control by single medi cal organization of all meritorious patents taken out Sirable
 The for medical patents is improving year by year Physicians and surgeons pay little attention to the American Medical Associations prohibition Very eminent practitioners have patented instrument tai methods examining the throat and the intes nal tract and almost every surgeon worth his salt has patented instrument known by his Not only has university after another reached the conclusion that there nothing unethical in paentng scientific discoveries but that there positive ad vantages. The day of full-handed philanthropy is over With of research funds drying up, the medical and pharmaceutical laboratories must find their own money. And they beginning to find it in patents-finding it ethicaly and efficiently