Appendix P Nonprofit, No Government Funding Example: The SNP Consortium History In April 1999, 10 large pharmaceutical companies and the Wellcome Trust philanthropy formed a consortium to find and map 300,000 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The goal was to generate a widely accepted, high-quality, extensive, publicly available map using SNPs as markers evenly distributed throughout the human genome. The SNP Consortium viewed its map as a way to make available an important, precompetitive, high-quality research tool to spark innovative work throughout the research and industrial communities. By 2003, a total of 1.8 million SNPs had been discovered—many more than originally anticipated. The international member companies, which together committed at least $30 million, were APBiotech; AstraZeneca Group PLC; Aventis; Bayer Group AG; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.; F. Hoffmann-La Roche; Glaxo Wellcome PLC; IBM, Motorola; Novartis AG; Pfizer, Inc.; Searle; and SmithKline Beecham PLC, and the Wellcome Trust contributed at least $14 million. Operations The SNP Consortium’s goal was achieved by providing research funding to existing academic centers currently involved in genome sequencing and/or mapping of genetic markers. The SNP identification was divided among the three research centers, including the Whitehead Institute, Washington University, and the Sanger Center (at the Wellcome Genome Research Campus). Direct radiation hybrid mapping was conducted at the Stanford Genome Center and the Sanger Center. Data handling, in-silico mapping, and bioinformatics were provided by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The SNP Consortium used DNA resources from a pool of samples obtained from 24 individuals representing several racial groups. This is a subset of the DNA reference panel for SNP identification collected by the NIH National Human Genome Research Institute. The anonymous, voluntary DNA contributions were made with informed consent specifically for this use. SNP identification was performed by each center through sequencing of reduced representation fractions of the genome generated by selecting certain-size fractions of restriction digests of genomic DNA pooled from 24 unrelated individuals. The genome centers refined this technique through pilot studies completed in the first quarter of 1999. Intellectual Property Management The overall intellectual property (IP) objective was to maximize the number of SNPs that (1) enter the public domain at the earliest possible date and (2) are free of third-party encumbrances, such that the map can be used by all without financial or other IP obligations. To meet the second objective, the SNP Consortium withheld public release of identified SNPs until mapping was achieved, to prevent facilitating the patenting of the same SNPs by third parties. Mapped SNPs were publicly released quarterly, approximately one quarter after they were identified. The IP plan was intended to maintain the priority dates of discovery of the unmapped SNPs during the period between identification and release, for use as “prior art.” All parties received access to the SNPs at the same time. The SNP Consortium members and the genome sequencing centers were not granted advanced access to unpublished SNPs.

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