Meningitis.

An American company has applied to patent a bacteria that causes meningitis. If this leads to the discovery of a new vaccine then the company will have to be paid for every treatment in the future. Dr Maiden said that it is natural for companies to apply to have patenting rights to their discovery, although patent law is applicable to inventions and not discoveries. They need to protect the huge investment they make in research and development of a new drug. The only way to get around the problem is to invest public money and money raised by charities.