Spring 2026 Biotechnology GU4161 section 001

ETHICS IN BIOPHARM PAT/REG LAW

ETHICS IN BIOPHARM PAT/RE

Call Number 10846
Day & Time
Location
W 6:10pm-8:00pm
To be announced
Points 3
Grading Mode Standard
Approvals Required None
Instructor Alan J Morrison
Type SEMINAR
Method of Instruction In-Person
Course Description

This course – the first of its kind at Columbia – introduces students to a vital subfield of ethics focusing on patent and regulatory law in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors.  The course combines lectures, structured debate, and research to best present this fascinating and nuanced subject.  Properly exploring this branch of bioethics requires an in-depth understanding of biotech and pharmaceutical patent and regulatory law.  Students can gain this understanding by first completing Biotechnology Law (BIOT GU4160), formerly the prerequisite for this course.  Now, they can also gain it by reading the appropriate chapters of Biotechnology Law: A Primer for Scientists (the textbook for BIOT GU4160 published earlier this year) prior to each class.  A number of students in the biotechnology fields (such as those in biotechnology, biomedical engineering, and bioethics programs) have shown a keen interest over the years in taking this course, yet were unable to do so because they hadn’t taken BIOT GU4160.  Given the recent publication of Biotechnology Law and the desirability of making BIOT GU4161 accessible to more students having the appropriate science background, BIOT GU4160 has been removed as a prerequisite.

Web Site Vergil
Department Biological Sciences
Enrollment 0 students (12 max) as of 3:05PM Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Subject Biotechnology
Number GU4161
Section 001
Division Interfaculty
Note Join waitlist to register
Section key 20261BIOT4161W001