Conrad Gorinsky

Dr. Conrad Gorinsky Guyana-born chemist who studied in the UK. He spent months with the Amazonian Wapishana tribe and later obtained US patents for tipir and cunani, two chemicals used by the tribe.

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Patent controversy

Rupununine

Gorinsky patented tipir as rupununine (after the nearby Rupununi river), which is an antipyretic derived from the Greenheart tree. His patent claims it may be used to treat malaria and cancer.

The Wapishana tribe grind this nut and use it to stop bleeding and as a contraceptive which provokes miscarriage.

"Tough, isn't it?", he says. "I was not the only person looking at the greenheart. I just picked up a nut and said 'what can I do with this?'. I have analysed the chemical structure but I have not patented the tree or a life process. How can I tell the Wapishana about the science? They just inherited the greenheart. They don't own it. I have invested in this with my own money".

Cunaniol

Gorinsky also patented a chemical derived from a plant which the natives call cunani and use for fishing. Being a potent neurotoxin, fish in the surrounding area become disoriented and can easily be caught. The chemical has no effect on humans or lasting environmental impact. Gorinsky patented this as cunaniol.