Doug writes:
> But you can patent substances removed from nature and subsequently processed. As I recall, many, if not a majority, of commercial drugs originate in plants. And if it were removed & processed, doses could
be standardized in ways they can't be now. No?
I am now out of my depth. From my AIDS activist days, my understanding was that you cannot patent a substance found in nature. As Carrol pointed out, that is why they make combinations of vitamins -- B complex, vitamin c with rose hips, etc. -- in order to distinguish then from other types.
The key (as I learned then) was not so much in the processing as in the chemical compounds added to enhance the the substance is the key. Since it is all about the benjamins, there is not thought to be enough profit in pursuing these avenues.
Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Resister