Most drug discoveries are made by public institutions. Private pharmaceutical companies, however, generally take over the development and commercialisation of the drugs. This "privatisation of science" has been accelerated by shortcomings in the patent system, says Carlos María Correa, director of the Centre of Interdisciplinary Studies of Industrial and Economic Law at the University of Buenos Aires. Writing in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, Correa says large drug companies have exploited the patent system. Developing nations need to design and implement patent laws that prevent strategic patenting and which promote competition and access to medicines, Correa concludes.