WHAT IS BIO PIRACY?

Bio piracy is: a situation where indigenous knowledge of nature, originating with indigenous people, is exploited for commercial gain without permission from and with no compensation to the indigenous people themselves. the commercial development of naturally occurring biological materials, such as plant substances or genetic cell

lines, by a technologically advanced country or organization

without fair compensation to the peoples or nations in whose territory the materials were originally discovered.

WHO ARE BIO PIRATES?

Bio pirates are those individuals or companies accused of either one or both of the following acts: Misappropriation of genetic resources and/or traditional knowledge through the patent system Unauthorized collection for commercial ends of genetic resources and/or traditional knowledge

What Are Patents?

give an individual or a firm the right and the privilege to a limited legal monopoly and control to make, use and sell its invention and/or discovery. give an individual and a firm the right to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention to the market.

POPULAR CASES OF BIO PIRACY IN THE WORLD

The rosy periwinkle is native to Madagascar, The locally known medical properties of the plant were not the same as the medical properties discovered and commercially used by Eli Lily. The use of the plant as a cure for diabetes was the original stimulus for research, but cures for cancer were the most important results. In 1995 the U.S Department of Agriculture and a pharmaceutical research firm received a patent on a technique to extract an anti-fungal agent from the neem tree, which grows throughout India and Nepal; Indian villagers have long understood the tree's medicinal value. Although the patent had been granted on an extraction technique, the Indian press described it as a patent on the neem tree itself.

Catharanthus roseus

Azadirachta indica

The Enola bean is a variety of Mexican yellow bean, so called after the wife of the man who patented it in 1999. The allegedly distinguishing feature of the variety is seeds of a specific shade of yellow.

Eleutherobin, a rare species of coral wereisolated by the marine chemists at Scripps, now patented and licensed to BristolMyers Squibb. The compound appears to prevent cells from dividing, and is thought to be an important tool in preventing solid cancer tumours.

Hoodia, a succulent plant, originates from the Kalahari Desert of South Africa. For generations, it has been known as an appetite suppressant. Derived products may be introduced into developed countries to help obesity. The long-term benefits are controversial.

Phaseolus vulgaris Hoodia cactus Eleutherobin

BIO PIRACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Local bio-specimens already patented abroad include the amplaya (Mamantia mordica), and talong (Solanum melongena) which are believed to have potential in curing thrombosis (blood clotting) and the human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS.
The Philippine yew (Taxus matrana), reported to have great potential in treating cancer, was uprooted from a national park in Mount Pulag, Benguet. Its patenting was made possible by researchers from the University of Massachusetts. But probably the most sensational is the discovery of a toxin called SNX III from the Philippine snail (Conus magnus). It is now owned by Neurex Inc., a US transnational pharmaceutical firm, reportedly with the help of scientists from the University of the Philippines - Marine Science Institute and the University of Utah. Eli Lilly sent a congratulatory letter to Aguilar promising to name the antibiotic Ilosone in honor of Iloilo province where the soil was originally collected. The drug erythromycin, sold under the brand name Ilosone, has earned Eli Lilly billions of dollars, but neither Aguilar nor the Philippine government received any royalty.

Mamantia mordica

Solanum melongena

Conus magnus

Erythromycin

EFFECTS OF BIO PIRACY

Depletion Damage

of resources

to the economy of the source country

Bad

effect on the traditions of the indigenous people because of the patents

and reemerging diseases

Emerging