A cold wind blew through the ranks of biotechnology companies this week following statements from Bill Clinton and Tony Blair that the basic sequence of human genes should be freely available to companies wishing to use it to advance medicine.

Biotechnology companies immediately defended their right to patent gene-based inventions - something that had not been contested in the statement from the two politicians - saying patents were the only way to recoup spending averaging between £300 and £400 million sterling over 10 to 15 years in developing new drugs. As one member of a British biotechnology industry group put it: "It's quite simply a case of no patent, no cure." Well, that's honest, at least.