Jonas Salk replied, "Well, the people I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" The vaccine is calculated to be worth $7 billion had it been patented. However, lawyers from the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis did look into the possibility of a patent, but ultimately determined that the vaccine was not a patentable invention because of prior art. Salk served on the board of directors of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Author Jon Cohen noted, "Jonas Salk made scientists and journalists alike go goofy. As one of the only living scientists whose face was
The Immune Response Corporation The Immune Response Corporation The Immune Response Corporation (IRC), founded by Jonas Salk and Kevin Kimberlin and based in Carlsbad, California, pioneered immunotherapeutic products. Francis Crick once said about Salk, “Few have made one discovery that has benefited humanity so greatly. Jonas was a man who, right to his last day, was actively in pursuit of another.” That pursuit was The Immune Response Corporation. Kimberlin “asked Salk to become lead scientific advisor for a new biotech company specializing in ‘anti-idiotypes,’ a novel vaccine technology.” Salk called the proposal “liberating.” The management team included CEO Jim Glavin, former CEO of Genetic