I'm relatively new here, and have not read all the 900+ posts on Geron. Furthermore, I'm not a patent attorney. I would agree with you, however, that in the pharmaceutical business, it is exceedingly difficult to "own" a target (i.e., telomerase). Correct me if I'm wrong, but it generally seems that patents on assay technology prevents other companies from "selling" the same assay technology (i.e., on a contract basis), but it not too effective in keeping other companies from using such assays, or more likely, slight variations thereof, in the own internal research programs. I personally do not know of any successful litigation where rights where claimed to a small molecule drug which was assayed using a patented assay. After all, the drug is what is being sold, not the assay. Thus, I don't think there is any big barrier to competition (in addition to BMS) entering the field. In the end, I think the race to find telomerase inhibitors will be won, if indeed it is do-able, by the best drug discovery team. According to this premise, I don't think Geron brings all that much to the table; it will depend more on Pharmacia-Upjohn.
Just my 2›!
R.N.
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