News of the Week though it found that the "invention involving recombinant DNA was novel and unobvious." "What we took exception to was agreed with," points out Martin Sherwood, Wellcome's spokesman, "namely that the patent as granted effectively covered TPA made by any method." Whitford stopped short of revoking the patent, leaving the door open for Genentech to reapply with a modified version. On the other hand, Genentech has automatic right to appeal the judgment. The company indicates that it will "vigorously pursue" this course. D
Rorer Group bids to acquire A· H. Robins The Rorer Group and A. H. Robins have signed a letter of intent for Rorer to acquire the troubled Richmond, Va.-based drug maker in a stock swap worth about $2.6 billion. For months Robins has been involved in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings as a protection against claims from users of its Dalkon Shield intrauterine device. Many companies have been seeking Robins, but if there is to be a winner, Rorer, which makes overthe-counter pharmaceuticals, looks like the one. There are a few hitches, however. For instance, acquisition of Robins would require approval of stockholders of both companies. But more important, approval also would be needed from Robins' creditors, plus subsequent confirmation by the U.S. bankruptcy court in Richmond. To accommodate claims from users of the Dalkon Shield, the letter of intent provides for the formation of two trusts totaling $1.75 billion. The letter also provides that all non-Dalkon Shield related claims, amounting to about $120 million, also would be satisfied. Rorer chairman and chief executive officer Robert E. Cawthorn says, "Rorer is conscious of the social responsibility to resolve as soon as possible the Dalkon Shield claims. By providing $1.75 billion, all legitimate claims can be processed and settled in the shortest possible time 6
July 13, 1987 C&EN
while insulating Rorer from such claims." If the deal is successful, the new company would have annual sales of about $1.5 billion. It would rank sixth in the U.S. over-the-counter pharmaceutical market and eighth in U.S. prescription sales to hospitals. D
Furfliesover SDI study by physicists The American Physical Society has responded with considerable vigor to criticisms of its study, released this April, of the science and technology of directed energy weapons (DEW). DEWs are key elements in any comprehensive defense against ballistic missiles. The APS study concludes that a decade or more of research is needed before informed decisions can be made about the effectiveness of DEW. The main criticism of the study is that its conclusion is poorly founded and overly pessimistic. The specific response, by APS president and Princeton physicist Val L. Fitch, is a rebuttal to a harshly worded letter to the society signed by one Democratic and 38 Republican Congressmen. The letter charges that the report is "riddled with errors." It also questions the manner in which the study was conducted and reviewed. Much of the Congressmen's concern stems, at least in part, from a briefing this May of the House Republican's research committee by Frederick Seitz, a former president of both APS and the National Academy of Sciences, and Lowell T. Wood and Gregory Canavan, two weapons laboratory scientists working on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Fitch states that, with a couple of exceptions, "the large errors [in the APS study] claimed by Wood and Canavan, simply do not exist." He further says that "These claims turn out to be based on Wood and Canavan's errors in physics and upon their extravagant assumptions regarding the performance of unproven technologies." Particularly upsetting to APS is
the harshness of Seitz's criticisms of the study. The study will be published as a supplement to the July issue of the Review of Modern Physics (RMP), an APS journal. Seitz, who is chairman of the science advisory committee for SDI, sees such publication as a lowering of the standards of the journals of a highly respected scientific organization. He sees this as a "very serious matter, with ominous implications for the health of American science." He likens it to both the decay of German science following the coming to power of the Nazis and to the depths that some Soviet scientists, especially in genetics, have descended to at various times. Speaking with C&EN, Seitz points out that the APS study is somewhat misdirected in that it does not consider the kinetic energy weapons that would be used in the initial stages of any missile defense system. But he insists the study's findings on DEW technology are incorrect and consistently too pessimistic. Seitz and Canavan also are upset that RMP will not simultaneously publish criticisms of the report. Editor David Pines of the University of Illinois tells C&EN that, as with most journals, he does not have provisions for such instant, unreviewed comment. He adds he is willing to receive, and have reviewed, papers that present other views on SDL He also rejects charges of inadequate review of the APS report, pointing out that the six-man review board included four former presidents of APS. Canavan tells C&EN that both he and Seitz have felt considerable frustration in that APS has been unresponsive to what he considers constructive criticism. He insists APS is publishing a report it knows to be in error. As he puts it, "the APS report is terrible. It will get APS killed." Fitch, in response to the Congressmen, states: "We believe that the report is as objective as humanly possible, and we hope it will raise, substantially, the level of discussion." He adds in his letter, "For some, the debate has become highly charged and emotional, making it difficult for them to maintain objectivity." D
