Protein Pharmaceuticals: Altering the Scope of Product Patents to Accomodate Recombinant DNA Technology

As recombinant DNA technology has evolved into a prominent tool to synthesize new products in the pharmaceutical industry, courts have been faced with novel infringement issues involving the scope of patents granted to protein pharmaceuticals. This note analyzes the way courts have interpreted the scope of product patents granted to purified product of nature inventions and recombinantly synthesized products. The note highlights the current problems with the judiciary\u27s interpretation of the Patent Act. The note then discusses a better approach to the infringement issues, an approach based on the Food and Drug Administration\u27s procedure when faced with analogous issues raised under the Orphan Drug Act