Biotechnology and intellectual property

Through out the decades, biotechnology has emerged as research area which requires the understanding of the biological intricacies of nature. Much of the scientific knowledge has been imparted to transfer beneficial genetic traits from one species to another to enhance or protect an organism. In the field of medicine, these tasks have ranged from the production of proteins, such as insulin, to selective targeting and binding of specific cell types. Since the discovery in the year 1800 that the human body is composed of cells and proteins that are susceptible to infection but can also combat pathogenic microbes, the perceived battlefield has challenged our imagination to develop biopharmaceuticals – biologically based therapeutic products. As we enter the information age, the presence of excessive amount of biologic and genetic data, coupled with exponential growth in computing power, mean that the rate of developing novel biopharmaceuticals is not at all limited by the ability to identify targets and clone macromolecules. But after post GATT period, this research area has faced a lot of restrictions by the government to follow the patent protection of these biologically engineered products of plant or human cell origin. Thus, biotechnology which is usually defined as any technique that uses living organisms or substances from organisms to make or modify a product, to improve plants or animals or to develop microorganisms for specific uses, is facing serious constraints like lack of skilled human resources, funds to bear the cost of these projects, the sophisticated infrastructure and facilities and stringent government laws