§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to control the purchase of biotechnology companies by agrochemical companies.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg[holding answer 28 February 1990]: There are no grounds for intervention to distort market mechanisms in the purchase of biotechnology companies. Small, research-based firms in biotechnology cannot take ideas through to commercial production alone; purchase by an established company can provide the significant extra resource needed.
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to ban the patenting of genetically manipulated animals.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg[holding answer 28 February 1990]: As I indicated to the hon. Gentleman in my answer of 16 January 1990 (Hansard, column 187, Vol 165, No 31), a European Community proposal for a directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions would, if adopted, confirm that patent applications for inventions concerned with genetically manipulated animals would be granted, provided other patentability criteria were met.
Discussions on this proposal are continuing, however, and the Government will take a view on it at the appropriate time.