RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Yew Tree and the Crab:
JF History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals
JO His of Phar and Pharma
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 3
OP 18
DO 10.3368/hopp.62.1-2.3
VO 62
IS 1-2
A1 Duffin, Jacalyn
YR 2020
UL http://hopp.uwpress.org/content/62/1-2/3.abstract
AB This paper addresses the fortunes of Biolyse, a small Canadian company, whose sole product for many years was an affordable version of the anticancer-drug, paclitaxel, derived from the yew tree. Repeated lawsuits and stringent regulations have made its survival precarious. The repeated attacks on this company demonstrate the travails of industrial innovation in confronting that other “crab” of big pharma. Sources include scientific publications, newspapers, interviews, and legal documents.