The rise in commercialisation of science is impeding access to key scientific knowledge and slowing down the progress of science, researchers on bmj.com have claimed. Varuni de Silva and Raveen Hanwella from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka contend that copyrighting or patenting medical scales, tests, techniques and genetic material, curbs the benefits that the public can gain from scientific discovery.
For instance, they point out, that many commonly used rating scales are copyrighted and researchers need to pay for their use. Extreme commercialisation of science can also lead to patents on medical procedures and techniques, the authors argue. However, the American Medical Association recently concluded that it is unethical for physicians to seek, secure or enforce patents on medical procedures.
The scientific community is reacting to the increasing commercialisation of science, they add. For instance, all genome sequences generated by the human genome project have been deposited into a public database freely accessible by anyone. Organisations such as the US’ National Institute of Health and the UK's Wellcome Trust insist on open access to publication resulting from research funded by them.
According to the Lankan researchers, the fundamental philosophy of Western science is sharing knowledge. While patenting is a useful tool for protecting investments in industry, we need to rethink its role in science, they point out. They conclude that although those who consider science as a commodity are willing to invest in research and development, much medical research is still carried out by non-profit organisations using public money. It is only right that such knowledge is freely shared. This is possible because academic scientists still consider the prestige of discovery more important than monetary reward.
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