- a Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- b Department of English and Linguistics, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
- c Institute for History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine, Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
- d Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
- e Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- f Shoubak University College, Al-Balqa Applied University, Jordan
- g Wilderness International, Dresden (Germany) and Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada
- h Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, Canada
- i Center for Health Innovation Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia
- j School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613401, T.N., India
- k Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, São Paulo State University, Araraquara, Brazil
- l Department of Biology, University of the Philippines, Manila City, and Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Dilman, Quezon City, Philippines
- m N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center, Moscow, Russia
- n Biomedical Sciences Institute Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal and Heidelberg School of Chinese Medicine, Heidelberg, Germany
- o Southwest Center for Natural Products Research and Commercialization, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
- p Chemistry Department, University of Western Cape, Belleville, South Africa
- q Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Biology Department, Burdur, Turkey
- r Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
- s Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon
- t College of Pharmacy, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
- u Macao University of Science and Technology, Macao, China
- v Department of Chemistry, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- w Faculty of Microbiology, Rodrigo Facio University, San José, Costa Rica
- x Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chubu University, Kasugai, and Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
- y Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- z Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand and Traditional Medicine College, Rajamangala University of Technology Thayaburi, Phathumthani, Thailand
- aa Duncan, Vancouver Island, Canada
- bb Current address: Pharmacognosy Department, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Phytochemistry Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. Home address: Phytochemistry Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
- cc Faculty of Sciences II, Lebanese University, Chemistry Department, Beirut, Lebanon
- dd Federal Government of Sudan, Khartoum, Sudan
- ee Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
- Received 22 October 2015, Revised 30 November 2015, Accepted 4 December 2015, Available online 9 January 2016
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Abstract
Background
Biopiracy
mainly focuses on the use of biological resources and/or knowledge of
indigenous tribes or communities without allowing them to share the
revenues generated out of economic exploitation or other non-monetary
incentives associated with the resource/knowledge.
Methods
Based
on collaborations of scientists from five continents, we have created a
communication platform to discuss not only scientific topics, but also
more general issues with social relevance. This platform was termed ‘PhytCancer
-Phytotherapy to Fight Cancer’. As a starting point, we have chosen the
topic “biopiracy”, since we feel this is of pragmatic significance for
scientists working with medicinal plants.
Results
It
was argued that the patenting of herbs or natural products by
pharmaceutical corporations disregarded the ownership of the knowledge
possessed by the indigenous communities on how these substances worked.
Despite numerous court decisions in U.S.A. and Europe, several
international treaties, (e.g. from United Nations, World Health
Organization, World Trade Organization, the African Unity and others),
sharing of a rational set of benefits amongst producers (mainly
pharmaceutical companies) and indigenous communities is yet a distant
reality. In this paper, we present an overview of the legal frameworks,
discuss some exemplary cases of biopiracy and bioprospecting as
excellent forms of utilization of natural resources.
Conclusions
We
suggest certain perspectives, by which we as scientists, may contribute
towards prevention of biopiracy and also to foster the fair utilization
of natural resources. We discuss ways, in which the interests of
indigenous people especially from developing countries can be secured.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
- Bioethics;
- Bioprospecting;
- Commercialization;
- Indigenous knowledge;
- Intellectual property;
- Patent
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