Joseph Allen

As we await the decision from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the petition backed by Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and others urging that the march in provision of the Bayh-Dole Act be used to control drug prices, it’s worthwhile to recall the time the agency followed similar advice. That resulted in a smack down by Congress and the courts after a band of universities, an innovative small company and a conscientious federal employee refused to be bullied, altering the course of government.