Ministers Adopt Common Position On Biotech Patenting And IV Diagnostics

European Union Ministers responsible for the single European marketagreed two legislative texts on November 27, one the biotechnology patenting directive, the other on in vitro diagnostics. Both have been controversial, long-running and highly political.

On the biotechnology patenting directive, relatively swift negotiations among national technical experts since September have meant that Ministers were able to come quickly to a political agreement on a text.

This will now return to the European Parliament for a second reading. The Ministers' decision, however, was not taken without a few surprises. Denmark, for example, was expected to vote against the directive but in the event gave its support following some small revisions. One of these changes added on the interpretive but not binding requirement that patent applications should divulge information on the origins of biological material when patent applications are filed.