Recently, in Washington, it was ruled that human genes may not be patented. This is a huge step forward in genetic research, as it will disallow privatisation of information on important genetic studies. This court case was mainly concerned with the company Myriad Genetics, which in the 90s, won two patents on the human genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, which if varied can significantly increase breast and ovarian cancer risk. This patent allowed them to offer an exclusive test at high prices (over $3000). However, with the new court ruling, others will be allowed access to the information and therefore allow further research and cheaper tests for cancer risks.

Whilst this is a huge step forward for genetics research, it seems ridiculous that these large companies can have so much control over our very make up, and that they can control and sell important knowledge. It seem unfair how they claimed a patent on something they did not make (as it is natural human DNA) and then charge ludicrous prices for a test, especially as most of their data which allowed them to discover the genes came from the public database.

Yet the battle for the research is not over. Although the patent has been removed, there are still problems with access to the data as the company holds it as a trade secret. These kinds of closed policies in the pharmaceutical field are really slowing down valuable research, which could save lives, all for the need for profit.

This entry was posted on June 24th, 2013 at 1:48 pm by Emily Morris and is filed under Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.