Drug companies can ignore patents during research

Drug companies have the freedom to ignore rivals' patents in the early stages of new product research under existing Food and Drug Administration guidelines, the US Supreme Court ruled this morning. The ruling will give pharma companies more flexibility in conducting research as long as they "cannot feasibly be marketed until after a competitor's patent expires." The case heard by the court involved a dispute between Princeton-based Integra and Merck over cancer research, in which Merck used a molecule patented by Integra. The Integra patent is set to expire in 2006.

- see this story from the Associated Press