Traditional knowledge refers to the perennial practices that have been indigenously developed, evolved, preserved, and utilized over ages by local communities and may have high commercial value in particular medicinal effects which might be an effective cure for an ailment.
Although the discovery of medicinal products by bioprospecting is advantageous in several ways, the methods and applications adopted by pharmaceutical firms have been criticized at several forums.
In this regard, it a good reason for a country to go for protecting traditional knowledge of medicine from patenting by pharmaceutical companies just to gain a monopoly.
Consequences of Bioprospecting
