DIVERSA INC.: ETHICAL ISSUES IN BIOPROSPECTING PARTNERSHIPS

The chapter explains how Diversa Corporation, a biotech company founded in San Diego, California in 1994, set out to create a new approach to bioprospecting that would support the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) principles. The CBD provided a framework for Diversa's biodiversity collaborations from the very outset of its operations. To ensure these rights and access, the firm established benefit-sharing partnerships wherever it collected its samples. Diversa Corporation was founded by a team of scientists who were among the world's leading experts in molecular biology and extremophiles. A team of scientists comprising Professor Melvin Simon of Cal Tech, Professor Jeffrey Miller of UCLA, and Professor Karl Stetter, formerly with Germany's University of Regensburg, together with Healthcare Investment Corporation, provided backing to establish Short and Mathur as management co-founders of the company. Diversa is using the versatility of its technologies to develop applications that range from industrial products to drug development, with strategic partners in each segment.