Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 206-209. (Budapest, 2009)

KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK —COMMUNICATIONS - Székely, József I.: Szabálytalan gyászbeszéd az utolsó szocialista gyógyszerkutató mammutvállalat (a Gyógyszerkutató Intézet, a korábbi Gyógyszeripari Kutató Intézet) kimúlása alkalmából

Székely, J. /.. Irregulär obituary to the death of the last socialist drug research mammoth 219 munists countries had more to "steal", than the other party, nevertheless the practice was not unilateral. The first "sputniks" were developed in the Soviet Union, the Americans obviously copied them (partly by the help of ex-Nazi scientists). Probably they also learned from the technical construction of several Soviet made arms üke the T34 type tanks. As for the pharmaceuticals, at the beginning several good antibiotics, like gramicidin-S (S stands for Soviet), nystatin, several vancomycin analogues, etc. were discovered in the Soviet Union. Let us add, it was not accidental. Since penicillin saved the life of many allied soldiers in the World War II, the search for new antibiotics was considered a military issue. Another dirty way of competition was the so called "brain drain". Highly qualified scientists who defected from the communist block were quickly employed by western firms. They had no morál qualms to dravv commercial profit from brains trained professionally in the "East". OK, might ask our young reader, "so you supported the preparations for communists takeover of the whole world?" Oh no. Some people really believed in the final victory of Marxism all over the world, but in the communist countries, even the intimidated, silent majority had to survive somehow the authoritarian regime, where one could not air his/her eventual morál doubts. In addition, we lived in relative poverty and the technical innovations were rewarded by generous bonuses from the income generated by reproductive patents/technologies. It did not mean genuine enrichment but improvement of the low level of living Standards e.g. buying a more decent apartment or a car, which was a kind of luxury. "So you sold your talent and efforts cheaply to an authoritarian government instead of emigrating from the dictatorial regime?" Not at all! It would have been unpatriotic (putting it mildly) particularly by intellectuals who everywhere have the morál duty to stay in their native country and to educate the whole society. Judging the practice of "patent piracy" the reader has to take into account that Hungary was (and is even today) a developing country where copying the Western technology was iisual (not any more). Actually in the communist countries all the blessings of western technology were imitated from Computers, cars, television sets to jeans. So why just the pharmaceuticals should have been the exception? Thus the drug researchers did what was the most evident and really served the best interests of sick people: they "reproduced" medicines, which had been developed in the West but were unavailable in the communist block. Finally in a sense they too are health professionals for whom treating the patients overrides every other morál principle. If it was a crime, the author as a pharmacologist was an accomplice to it (though not involved in any of the related patents). Finally we did not live in a sterile test-tube. And let us add a further point: these patents called hypocritically "reproductive" had to be better than the original ones by making the large-scale production of a certain compound cheaper, simpler or more reliable thus in a sense they really served the improvement of technology. To be honest in many cases the factories employed the original western technology and used the "reproductive patents" as fig-leaves. If his practice meant erodation ofthe public morals, it did not last long. As soon as the communism was over, this practice was also terminated. Otherwise, since the rieh West treated the poor East with "due" condescension but doctors and patients badly needed the new preparations, we actually felt a kind of vindication whenever a new drug developed in the West was successfully manufactured in Hungary. Furthermore, since with in the Comecon block Hungary was the main supplier of drugs, not only Hungárián patients profited from these "dubious" achievements. Nevertheless,