Biotech Values

[genisi]

MDCO's patent lawyers mistake

In a 2006 hearing of the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on intellectual property, MDCO's CEO, Dr. Meanwell, was asked by legislation, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, then-chairman: "Dr. Meanwell, this is a particularly litigious society that we have today. I am sure there are any number of plaintiff's attorneys who would be happy to file a malpractice suit, contingency fee or not, on your behalf. Why haven't you simply resorted to those means and filed a malpractice suit?"
Here's Dr. Meanwell's answer: "Mr. Chairman, a lawsuit won't solve this problem. We will still be left with the underlying pothole in the law. I think there is a real policy problem to solve here. Of course, I would like the money. The money would be useful to help me build my company. But it wouldn't save a single life. I don't think at this stage that a lawsuit is going to move any of us forward. Certainly, it is not going to move forward the well-being of any patient. So for us, at this point, we would rather come here and debate the merits of fixing this hole in the law than suing our law firm."

See pages 45-46 here:

http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju29871.000/hju29871_0f.htm

The law firm btw, is Fish & Neave.