A MSU patent on a cancer-treating drug is up and will no longer provide royalties for the university.
The drug, Carboplatin, which has had a dramatic effect on the nation, was a modification of Cisplatin, a cancer-treatment drug also discovered by MSU researchers Barnett Rosenberg, Loretta Van Camp and Thomas Krigas in the 1960s. Both drugs were patented in the 1970s.
"It's like water," said Kenneth Schwartz, a MSU professor of medicine. "The (drugs) are used daily in every oncology clinic in the country "
"It's been one of the best drugs we've had."
According to the online medical database Medline, Carboplatin and Cisplatin interferes with the growth of cancer cells and eventually kills them. It is commonly used for ovarian cancers but has had success in other types as well.
"It's a marvelous drug," Schwartz said, adding the end of patent will allow his patients to obtain the drug more cheaply.
Discovering the drug was somewhat of a surprise for MSU researchers.
"We weren't really looking at the time for a cancer drug," Rosenberg said, explaining he and his colleagues had been examining the effect of electricity on a cell growth. They quickly noticed something was killing the cells.
After three years of investigating, they discovered a small amount of platinum was going into the solution and killing the cells, Rosenberg said.
"We thought, since it stopped the cells from growing, maybe it would work against cancer."
Rosenberg said he and the other researchers tested the compound on mice and it worked.
"Once you discover the secret, you make modifications," Rosenberg said. "We tested 1,000 different modifications."
Rosenberg and his colleagues eventually patented Cisplatin and then Carboplatin, in conjunction with MSU.
According to MSU's patent policy, the inventor can keep the first $5,000 of profit off of their product. As profits, the inventor receives smaller amounts. Proceeds more than $1.005 million leave 15 percent to the inventor.
Officials from the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies' office and the Office of Intellectual Property could not be reached for comment.
Rosenberg used his profits to leave the university 1988 and found the Barros Research Institute in Holt, which attempts to find cures for cancer and is supported by royalties.
"Now we're losing that," he said, adding he has another anti-cancer drug in clinical trials he hopes to patent.
Patents are generally the inventor's property for 20 years, said Lazaro Torres, a spokesman for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. If the inventor feels they improve the product, they can apply for a new patent, Torres said, adding processing a patent takes between 12 and 18 months.
"It's really considered to be corporate America," he said. "This individual has 20 years to call this product their own."
