Few months ago when I was watching BBC NEWS I got to know that The U.S. Centers for Disease Control owns a patent for a strain of Ebola known as “EboBun. I thought to share a story of a Legend who refused to get his invention patented for humanitarian cause, Before getting into actual story let us try to understand what actually patent is
“A patent is a exclusive right granted to persons or organizations. It allows that person or organization to exclusively profit from the invention or deny others the ability to exploit the invention for their own profit.”
Jonas Edward salk born on Oct 28 1914 in New York to a Jewish parents who were immigrants. Since his earliest days, Salk dedicated himself to knowledge, and he excelled in everything he did, Even during his years as a student in New York medical college he took off in between to learn Biochemistry and also did his study on bacteriology.
Jonas Edward salk
For many years Polio was treated as virus transmitted through air and attacks others, the nurses used to make door to door survey to identify victims, if victims found they were taken to hospital and were isolated for treatment, in case victim dies while treatment they used to cremate the body even parents were not permitted to attend funerals as they thought virus would transmit to them also.
As the severity of the disease rose day by day the concern for it also increased, people of US started to fear polio to same extent as they feared Nuclear weapons. At the same time in1938
“March of Dimes” to collect fund for polio victims took place under the leadership of President Roosevelt( as he was also victim of polio) where Salk met top doctors of that time and decided to work on “Polio”.
March of Dimes
In 1947, Salk went to the University of Pittsburgh Medical School on an invitation. It was there that he began his work on the polio vaccine. After years of intense effort, Salk and his team found a vaccine, based upon killed virus, which was rolled out in a massive trial in 1954. His work paid off when, in April 12 1955, the news was made public that Salk had discovered a vaccine for polio and it works.
Polio vaccine worked!!!
True Inspiration is not only this as he inspired entire world when he said “I won’t apply for Patent”. In 1955 in an interview with Edward R. Murrow,
Murrow asked “Who owns patent of polio vaccine?”
Jonas Salk asked “Could you patent the sun?” and continued saying that patent is owned by everyone, he indicated that he never wished to make money out of a humanitarian cause.
“WOW” what a generosity!! If Jonas salk had patented his vaccine that day today world would have suffered a lot to get polio vaccine, It is estimated that Jonas salk sacrificed 7billion $(Rs. 430009650000 ) by not applying for patent.
He later founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, allowing others to perform their research. In his institute he took his next project, was to find a medicine for AIDS but unfortunately he left Earth in 1995, His contribution in field of science is immeasurable.
Dear friends, today if India proudly says “we are polio free country” the sacrifice of Jonas salk of not getting patent is also one of the reason. Shouldn’t we thank Jonas Salk for all his contribution? Think…
“Thank you sir”..
- Cost of a Glass of Milk - May 3, 2016
- Padma vibhushan Dhirubhai Ambani. - January 26, 2016
- ABDUL KALAM, BILLION SALAAM… - July 28, 2015
Good one Keep it up