Looking beyond Patent Expiry The problem of patent protection loss and associated revenue loss will continue to trouble major companies, with estimated revenue losses of US$2.2 billion in 2004 from patent expiries on 18 drugs, increasing to an estimated US$5.3 billion in 2005.
Modified pigs are transplant ‘breakthrough’ A new breed of genetically engineered pigs with organs far less likely to be rejected by people has been created in the US. The surfaces of the cloned pigs’ cells lack a key sugar, which triggers the violent hyperacute rejection response. This normally reduces transplanted organs to pulp within hours.