A South African community is to challenge German homeopathic giant Schwabe Pharmaceuticals in court in Munich next week over a traditional medicine the company is seeking to patent.
The case could set a precedent in cases in which multinationals use the plants and indigenous knowledge of developing countries, where laws may not protect communities’ intellectual property rights.
Schwabe wants to patent a method for producing extracts from the roots of Pelargonium sidoides and Pelargonium reniforme to make cough and cold syrups. The company has also hit problems in India over alleged bioprospecting.