US Scientists isolate antibodies effective against 91 of HIV strains
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U.S. Scientists Isolate Antibodies Effective Against 91% of HIV Strains
Published 1, July 9, 2010 Science , Society , Torts 8 Comments

We have an extraordinary breakthrough in the fights against AIDS. U.S. scientists have reported that they have isolated three powerful antibodies for HIV — one of which neutralizes 91% of HIV strains.

This could be the basis for an eventual vaccine for AIDS. The antibodies were discovered in the cells of a 60-year-old African-American gay man, known only as “Donor 45.”

This is wonderful news and the scientists are going to start “blending” antibodies to see if they can knock out all strains.

What is interesting legally in these breakthrough moments is the the source for the antibodies is rarely given significant value for his unique antibodies. This has been an issue that has repeatedly been raised and courts have generally favored hospitals and researchers in blocking demands for compensation. This issue was raised in Moore v. Regents of the University of California, 51 Cal. 3d 120, 271 Cal. Rptr. 146, 793 P.2d 479 (1991). In that case, Moore was treated for hairy cell leukemia at UCLA Medical Center. His doctor, Dr. David W. Golde and others soon realized that Moore’s cells were promising for genetic research. Moore was never told that his cells were being used for research and was never told that blood and tissue samples were being taken specifically for such research. Indeed, he alleged that follow up visits were scheduled primarily to harvest such material.

Golde patented a cell line using Moore’s cells and he and his colleagues made a great deal of money. Moore argued conversion and lost. The court ruled that he had no expectation that such blood and tissue would be returned — even though he would have likely demanded compensation if he knew that he was being harvested for valuable genetic material. The most that the courts were willing to give Moore was a ruling that the hospital violated the duty of disclosure and the requirement of consent. However, damages for such torts are far less than what he would have received under a conversion claim.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Sandoz
Sandoz, Momenta get FDA approval to make generic version of blood thinner Lovenox
July 24, 2010|By Andrew Zajac, Tribune Washington Bureau
Reporting from Washington —

In a closely watched decision, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved an application by German drug maker Sandoz and Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., to make the first generic version of the widely used blood thinner Lovenox.

The approval positions Momenta and Sandoz to offer a cheaper but still lucrative alternative to Lovenox, which had sales of $4.5 billion in 2009, making it the 15th-bestselling drug in the world.

Defendants; Dr. David W. Golde, Regents of the University of CA, Shirley G. Quan, Genetics Institute, Inc. and Sandoz Pharma Co.
II. Facts

. . . The plaintiff is John Moore (Moore), who underwent treatment for hairy-cell leukemia at the Medical Center of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA Medical Center). The five defendants are: (1) Dr. David W. Golde (Golde), a physician who attended Moore at UCLA Medical Center; (2) the Regents of the University of California (Regents), who own and operate the university; (3) Shirley G. Quan, a researcher employed by the Regents; (4) Genetics Institute, Inc. (Genetics Institute); and (5) Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation and related entities (collectively Sandoz).


Moore v. Regents of the University of California
EXCERPT:
Moore v. Regents of the University of California (51 Cal. 3d 120; 271 Cal. Rptr. 146; 793 P.2d 479) was a Supreme Court of California case settled on July 9, 1990. John Moore underwent treatment for hairy cell leukemia at the Medical Center of the University of California at Los Angeles under the supervision of Dr. David W. Golde. Moore's cancer was later developed into a cell line that was commercialized, and the court ruled that Moore had no right to profits from the commercialization of anything developed from his discarded body parts.

HeLa and HIV

HeLa-LAV, an epithelial cell line stably infected with HIV-1

References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.

Jörg Berg, a, Barbara Doeb, Kathelyn S. Steimerb and Matthias Wabla

aDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

bChiron Corporation, Emeryville, California, U.S.A.

Accepted 8 May 1991. Available online 12 November 2002.

Abstract
An HeLa-LAV cell line was established by infecting and subcloning previously described CD4-expressing HeLa cells with HIV-1. Cells of this line stably synthesize all major HIV proteins, release infectious particles of HIV-1, but do not die even after long term culture. More than 90% of the cells express the envelope protein gp120 on the surface. The cells can be easily and efficiently labeled with 51chromium, and exhibit a low spontaneous release. Because they are susceptible to killing by allogeneic cytotoxic T cells (CTL) when targeted to gp120, they ought to be a useful source of target cells in any kind of HIV-specific killing assays. The cells may also help studies on HIV replication in non-lymphatic/non-monocytic cells. The HeLa-LAV cell line will be freely available from the AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program.

Keywords: HeLa-LAV cell; HeLaT4+ cell; HIV-1 infection; 51Chromium release assay

Correspondence to: Jörg Berg, Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0414, U.S.A.