I happened to see this article today.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/techscience/story/0,4386,208280,00.html
The article says this is no magic bullet for weight control but:
"If you’re going to try to control appetite in humans, you should do so in a physiologically appropriate way that does no harm,’ Dr Bloom said. ‘Most of the drugs being developed by the pharmaceutical industry affect many parts of the body. This approach uses the intrinsic system that the body uses.’
So far, the hormone has not produced adverse side-effects, a problem that has plagued other weight-loss drugs, he said.
Dr Bloom said, however, that so far, ** no drug companies have expressed interest in developing the hormone as a drug because, as a natural body substance, it cannot be patented.**"
(The bold above is from me.)
So what they are saying is that a promising new, SAFE method of weight control will be put on the back burner because it cannot be patented and thus no big profit for the drug companies.
Ya know, if you didn’t already have enough reason to hate those people, this oughta be enough to frost your non-diet cookies!
Makes you wonder what other non-patentable products are out there that could improve, or even save lives.