BioCentury
ARTICLE | Strategy

Merck's move met with disdain

October 3, 1994 7:00 AM UTC

Merck's decision to fund large-scale automated sequencing of cDNA fragments and place the results in the public domain has underwhelmed biotechnology companies that have an established presence in genomic research.

Several of the companies mentioned in the general financial press as potential victims of the Merck move dismiss it as, essentially, a day late and a dollar short. The companies said it is unlikely to deal a knock-out blow to their intellectual property positions, which are uncertain in any case because the validity of patents on little-characterized cDNA fragments will not be resolved for years. ...