| On a weekend trip in 1983, a Bay Area biotechnology | | | | also did not take long for it to make the leap to |
| scientist had a flash of inspiration. Kary Mullis, Ph.D., | | | | Hollywood: PCR was highlighted in the movie Jurassic |
| realized that a combination of readily available | | | | Park and is used weekly in the CSI television series. |
| laboratory reagents and materials would promote the | | | | A patent is a monopoly granted by the US |
| exponential replication of DNA in a test tube. He | | | | government on inventions. Hoffman-La Roche, a |
| realized that over a billion copies of a DNA fragment | | | | Swiss pharmaceutical giant recognized the commercial |
| could be made in an afternoon! Upon returning to | | | | potential for PCR and purchased the family of PCR |
| Cetus Corporation, he started laboratory work that | | | | patents for $300 million in 1990. The original Mullis |
| would lead to a revolutionary patent. | | | | patent expired a few years ago, but a "picket fence" |
| In 1987, US Patent 4,683,202 "process for amplifying | | | | of other patents still protects various aspects of the |
| nucleic acid sequences" issued. The Polymerase Chain | | | | method. Hoffman-La Roche licensed the technology |
| Reaction or PCR method would soon be used world | | | | broadly and has developed many of its own products |
| wide to perform biotechnology experiments, clone | | | | based upon the method. The return on investment |
| genes, identify pathogens, and convict criminals. It | | | | of their $300 million has been huge! |